Priesthood in Paxism
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Priesthood in Paxism (Packilvanian: luImamiyat aPaxashme) refers to the collective of priests (Packilvanian: Imam) and equivalent officials of Paxism. Its functions include the teaching of scripture exhortation of believers, counselling of believers, leading believers in and calling them to prayer and recitation and custodianship of Majhids. In Packilvania and other countries in which the Magisterium of Paxism exists, Priests tend to require the approval of Magisters to operate. There are related offices such as readers, sorcerers, and prophets. Priests are mutually exclusive from the Magisterium and there is a much lower bar to entry.
Functions
From a synthesis of all of the practices and sects of priestlike officials, the following functions can be attributed to their office:
- Teaching: Priests are people who teach their congregants about the Writings of Paxism, canon law of Paxism and the paths of Assimilation. According to the Magisterium of Paxism, Priests do not have the power to interpret the scriptures according to their own understanding. They are simply required to teach. This view is contested by those sects that do not recognise the authority of the Magisterium.
- Exhortation: Priests also must identify and point out the actions of their congregants that go against the letter and spirit of the path of Assimilation, the Writings of Paxism and the canon law of Paxism. According to the Magisterium, they do not have the right to cast judgement. The Bas Magdamar reserves the right to judge, and to declare something anathema or to excommunicate someone to the Magisterium. Again, those sects that do not recognise the Bas Magdamar and the Magisterium, do not recognise its authority on this matter.
- Counselling: Priests often listen to the sins of their congregants and counsel them. According to the Magisterium, they can listen and offer counsel but they cannot offer penance. The Magisterium states that the Bas Magdamar reserves the power to grant penance to Magisters i.e., the power to absolve from guilt or fault for violating the Writings and the canon law.
- Recitation: Priests lead their congregants in the recitation and reading of the Writings of Paxism.
- Invitation: Priests invite their congregants and others to prayer and to attendance in a weekly gathering of believers through a loud announcement in a chant-like style from a high tower called a Minaret of their Majhid.
- Custodianship: Priests take care and of and oversee the maintenance of a Majhid. They oversee all matters relating to the physical structure and facilities that the congregants use as a place of worship. In Packilvania, practically all Majhids are built by the Magisterium which appoints a Priest to oversee them or the government has placed pre-Magisterial Majhids under Magisterial authority.
- Leadership: The Priest forms the leader of a congregation. They must ensure that the needs of their congregants are met, that disputes are resolved and bring to the attention of their congregants matters of concern. They must synthesise and communicate a vision for their congregation and give direction and focus to achieving it.
- Orchestration: The Priests are permitted to conduct religious rituals such as baptism, marriage, and sacrificial atonement.
Appointment
Technically, any baptised Paxist who is recognised by a community of believers as a priest is a priest (according to the Vagumar). However, the Bas Magdamar charges the Magisterium with the responsibility of recognising, appointing and dismissing Priests. Those sects which do not follow the Bas Magdamar tend to have their own system for recognising priests.
According to the Magisterium, a candidate for recognition by it as a priest must be a literate baptised male adherent of Paxism in good standing with it. It normally assesses priests for their knowledge of the canon law and Bas Magdamar and judges the extent to which their lives have been an exemplary model of Assimilation. It holds them to a far lower standard than candidates for Magisterial office. For instance, it does not require them to have a formal education or to write a special examination. It does not expect their knowledge to be extensive or deep. It does require them to swear an oath to be obedient to the Magisterium and to teach and lead their congregants according to its precepts and statutes.
Other sects do not believe that a priests should be male. As such, some sects believe that women and gender minorities can serve as priests. Additionally other sects do not believe that a priests should be educated or even literate if they have memorised the scripture that they recognised orally I.e., they are a Hafiz by ear.
The Magisterium does not believe that women can be priests. However, it does believe that women can be Readers. A Reader is some one who is allowed to read the scriptures, teach the scriptures and lead others in prayer if they are women and children. For instance, in the Imperial Court of Packilvania, the Sultana Consort of Packilvania appoints a woman to be the Chief Reader so that she can lead the women of the inner court in religious matters. Women Readers are not permitted to conduct religious rituals according to the Magisterium, but it does not forbid them from directing a male to do so on their behalf.
In Majhids where there is more than one priest, one will normally be the Chief Priest. This can be a primus inter pares. Some sects call their priest a Sorcerer. They state that a Sorcerer is a priest who has been imparted with Charisma (spiritual gifts) to offer divination, to induce outcomes through incantations and potions, and to bind and expel spiritual beings with spells. The Magisterium has declared Sorcerers anathema and Sorcery is punishable by death, flogging and/or imprisonment in Packilvania. Prophets are distinct from the Priests in that all they do is foretell the future, bring messages from the Most High and teach. Unlike Priests, they are typically not sedentary. Very few Prophets have been acknowledged by the Magisterium and the last one to be officially recognised was over 100 years ago.
Comparison to the Magisterium
The Magisterium of Paxism is only recognised by those who believe that the Bas Magdamar as approved by the Council of Bingol in 980 CE is the final and only legitimate scripture. These people are called Melkezedekists by outside analysts and sometimes by themselves. Magisters are judges and scholars who interpret the scriptures, resolve disputes on the interpretation of the scriptures, and judge people's deeds according to the canon law of Paxism and either condemn, acquit or forgive them.
As such, Magisters are often appointed by the Government of Packilvania as members of the Judiciary of Packilvania. As such, the Magisterium in Packilvania has delegated the role of judge over people to the Religious and Religious Appeals Courts of Packilvania. The Magisterium outside of Packilvania may allow Magisters to act as judges. According to the law of Packilvania, judges of religious courts not only have the power to declare something anathema or to excommunicate someone, they also have the power to have people arrested, flogged and executed. They have the power to levy fines and to declare things legal or illegal. To that end, they can direct the police and in fact, the Magisterium oversees the Religious Police which is responsible for religious law enforcement.
Magisters do not typically engage with people on a regular basis. They do not lead or call them to prayer or recitation, they do not orchestrate rituals or act as custodians of Majhids. The Magisterium acts as the government of Paxism (to the extent it is recognised) while the Priests comprise the civil service. As such, Magisterial bodies such as the Council of Great Magisters can pass bulls that direct and instruct all believers (to the extent that those believers recognise or are subject to its authority). Priesthood is not only a distinct office from Magisterial Office, but it is mutually exclusive. In Packilvania, the Magisterium has so much power that is impossible for a priest to function without its confidence and approval. Priests are orders of magnitude more numerous than Magisters and in Packilvania, they tend to be paid salaries by the Magisterium.