Elene Church - Structure

Structure

The Elene Church is based at Chyrellos, a city-state under the control of the Church and ruled by the Archprelate, much like the Vatican in the Catholic Church. The Basilica of Chyrellos is the chief cathedral for the Elene Church, much like St. Peter's Basilica.

The head of the Elene Church is the Archprelate, who is equivalent to the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. The Archprelate is elected by a congress of Patriarchs, who are analogus to cardinals in the Catholic Church. (In real Christendom, a Patriarch is the head of one of the Orthodox churches). A Patriarch is usually in charge of the religious administration of a city; e.g. Dolmant is the Patriarch of Demos, Bergsten is the Patriarch of Emsat). So a Patriarch also seems to undertake the duties of local diocesan Catholic bishops or archbishops; in fact, the archbishops of several cities are usually made cardinals). The four preceptors of the Militant Orders (the Church Knights) also hold the rank of Patriarch. Each Patriarch (minus the Preceptors) seems to have a squad of Church soldiers at their command to ensure their protection.

Primates are the Elene equivalent of bishops. They rank lower than a Patriarch and seem to do less than a Roman Catholic bishop. They seem to be assistants to the Patriarchs. Annias only runs the church in Cimmura because the Patriarch is old and unable to manage the administration himself. In fact, Annias is the only Primate actually mentioned in the series.

Last of all are priests. They seem to fulfil the same position of their Roman Catholic counterparts.

The Archprelate must be elected by a vote of 100 votes, or a like proportion of those Patriarchs present and voting (there are a total of 168 Patriarchs). This is similar to the Papal Conclave, although a conclave requires a 2/3 majority plus one vote. Also, the Papal Conclave is held in the strictest secrecy, with the cardinals locked in the Sistine Chapel until a decision has been reached, whereas the election of the Archprelate takes place in view of other Church officials (Primate Annias, the Church Knights) and the monarchs of the various Eosian nations. Like the Roman Catholic system, the one elected to be Archprelate does not necessarily have to be a Patriarch. Even a priest can become Archprelate.