Solar Pantheonic Church
The Solar Pantheonic Church is the indigenous faith of the Altan steppes, which includes the Altanari, Akamian and Argali ethnic groups. The SPC is predominantly found there, but adherents can be found in virtually any nation that tolerates religious freedom, due to expatriates living abroad expanding the areas where the SPC is followed. The SPC is headquartered at the Monastery of the Mountain, at Mount Kilaris in Altana Hol, Altanar.
Basic theology of the faith
The SPC revolves around a set of gods and goddesses known as the Solar Pantheon. The chief member of that pantheon is Telar, the god of the sun. However, there are literally thousands of both major and minor deities within the Solar Pantheon. In SPC theology, every living thing, from the most advanced to the least, has been endowed with the spirit of life by the Pantheon, and has a patron god or spirit associated with it. In theory, SPC adherents are supposed to show respect and make offerings to all of those spirits. In practice, however, since there are so many of them, most followers of the Solar Pantheonic faith typically make offerings to the major gods, and then the minor ones, as groups, rather than individually. Upon reaching the age of majority (typically 17), SPC adherents choose one of the deities of the Pantheon as their own personal patron, and make special offerings specifically to that deity.
Reincarnation is an integral part of the SPC faith. In SPC theology, no living thing ever really dies, but returns to the cycle of life in another form. In this fashion, the universe is constantly renewed and kept alive and flourishing.
No heaven, but seven hells
In SPC theology, there is no heaven; if one has lived a good life, they ascend to ifka, which can best be described as a spiritual "waiting room". In ifka, they are then given the privilege of reincarnation by the Pantheon, and resume life in another form, as their reward. However, if one has not lived a good life, they are plunged into sharyat, or the seven hells. They must then atone for their misdeeds by fighting their way back to ifka through each hell; each level is worse than the one that precedes it, and is typically made up of the worst fears of the fallen soul; the fallen soul must also endure being subject to the same misdeeds they committed in life. If they succeed in making it past all seven hells, they return to ifka and are then reincarnated, having atoned for their misdeeds. If they fail, their soul is destroyed forever, never to reincarnate or return to the material plane. This is known as asheth, or "the ultimate death". SPC adherents are quite fearful of falling into asheth, and typically do everything they can to avoid doing anything so horrible that they might earn such a fate.
The structure of the SPC
The SPC is made up of several hierarchial layers. The lowest layer can be found in individual churches, where Priests/Priestesses lead individual congregations. Above them, Archpriests/Priestesses are responsible for all of the churches in a given region, roughly corresponding to local provinces or states. Above the Archpriests, Great Priests/Priestesses govern all of the Archpriestships in a specific nation. Above the Great Priests, Grand Priests/Priestesses are responsible for all of the SPC churches in a given denomination. At the highest level, the High Priest/Priestess leads the entire SPC. The current High Priest is Isthana I, whose goal is to help the SPC regain primacy and prominence as the major religion of the Altan steppes.
The SPC has four major denominations: the Solar Pantheonic Church of Altanar (SPCA), the Solar Pantheonic Church of Akamia (SPCAk), the Argalian Solar Pantheonic Church (ASPC), and the International Solar Pantheonic Church (ISPC). These four denominations form the Solar Pantheonic Order of Faith (SPOF), which the High Priest leads.
