Imperial Synod

Overview

The Synod is the Imperial Institution that brings together the Priests of The Way from all across The Empire. The Synod was created at the founding of The Empire by the First Empress and its existence, along with some of its powers, is enshrined in the Imperial Constitution. It's role is to ensure that the Empire and its citizens remain virtuous.

Role within the Empire

The Imperial Synod's primary role is to safeguard the soul of the Empire, to keep it safe from dangers and corrupting influences without - such as Foriegners, Barbarians and Eternals - and within. It provides a balance on the power of the Imperial Senate and The Throne and punishes the unvirtuous by removing them from office. It also controls the supply of Pure Liao which grants access to past life visions.

Entry requirements

Any priest who ministers to a significant congregation of Imperial citizens is eligible to be a member of the Synod. This is represented by operating a church as a downtime resource. Synod members cannot normally sit in the Senate; if a priest is elected to the Senate, then they cannot vote in any part of the Synod while they serve as a senator.

History

The Synod was created at the dawn of the Empire; inspired by the Highguard Assembly of the Virtuous. The history of the Synod is intimately tied up with the history of The Way.

The Assemblies

The Synod is divided into Assemblies who are made up of members of the Synod. The different assemblies within the Synod exercise different powers. Members of the Synod are always members of at least two assemblies. These are:

The General Assembly – The General Assembly consists of all members of the Synod. The authority of the General Assembly extends to the whole Empire, including The Throne. Some of the powers of the General Assembly may be exercised by the members of a single nation if an issue concerns that nation directly.
The Virtue Assemblies – The Virtue Assemblies consist of all members of the Synod who are dedicated to the same Virtue. There are Seven Virtue Assemblies and the Assembly of the Way, for all members of the Synod who are not dedicated to a specific Virtue. The Virtue Assemblies select one of their number to be Cardinal of the Assembly. The authority of a Virtue Assembly extends to all Dedicated Priests and Pilgrims of that Virtue, and in policing the actions and judgements of their Cardinal.
The Assembly of Nine – The Assembly of Nine consists of the Seven Cardinals of the Virtue Assemblies, the Cardinal of the Assembly of the Way, and the current occupant of The Throne. The authority of the Assembly of Nine extends to the whole Empire, excluding The Throne.

Powers of the Synod

Every member of the Synod possesses the following the powers as enshrined in the Imperial Constitution.

Sanctuary and clemency

Any Imperial citizen may seek sanctuary within the Synod or within any consecrated ground. Once there, the supplicant has the turn of an hourglass in which they can confess their crimes, or gather proof of their innocence, prior to facing the Judiciary. Any member of the Synod may take the confession of a fugitive from the law. A Synod member who has taken confession may accompany the fugitive to their trial to plead for clemency. The seniority of the Synod member is borne in mind when the Judiciary consider their verdict.

Witness

The Synod is responsible for the spiritual wellbeing of the Empire and is empowered by the Imperial Constitution to witness or observe all aspects of its function. Any member of the Synod must be granted access to all common areas, in order to observe and witness, provided they remain quiet, respectful and do not directly interfere. This legal power includes the Senate and the Generals' Tent.

Judgement

Once per event, any Synod priest can call on their peers to pass judgement on an issue. This puts a motion before the appropriate Assembly for them to vote upon and may involve the Assembly exercising one of its powers (see also: Judgement of the Synod below).

Powers of the Assemblies

Each of the assemblies of the Synod has powers that are laid down in the Imperial Constitution.

Gatekeepers

The Cardinals of the seven Virtue Assemblies each appoints a member of their Assembly to be Gatekeeper. The Cardinal may not appoint themself. Traditionally, it has been frowned upon to name a Gatekeeper from the same nation as the Cardinal, but this is not forbidden. The Gatekeepers control access to the Labyrinth of Ages by dint of overseeing distribution of the Pure Liao prepared by the Civil Service.

Conscience of the Senate

The Cardinal of the Assembly of The Way may appoint a layperson of virtue who is not a member of the Synod to a specially designated seat in the Senate created by the First Empress to serve as the Senate's conscience. The Cardinal may not appoint themself. Traditionally, it has been frowned upon to name a Conscience from the same nation as the Cardinal, but this is not forbidden. The layperson may hold the seat for no longer than a year.

Veto

Once per event, the General Assembly may Veto a Senate motion that is deemed to be in conflict with the Imperial Virtues. This is not done as a vote, but requires a majority of the General Assembly to enter the Senate and declare the veto within one hour of the vote being declared in the Senate. The Synod cannot veto a vote after this time.

Reward – Upon the judgement of the General Assembly, a portion of any gift pledged to the Synod as part of distribution of Pure Liao may be given to an individual or group whose virtuous acts are worthy or recognition and reward.
Revocation – Upon the judgement of the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, an individual may be deemed unworthy of the position that they hold, on the grounds of poor moral character, and be stripped of their Imperial Office. Imperial Offices include such roles as Senator, General and Cardinal. The General Assembly has the power to bid the Empress to step down.
Inquisition - Upon the judgement of a National Assembly, the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, an individual, or group, may be required to come to the Synod to face inquisition by members of the Synod on charges of Idolatry, Blasphemy or Heresy. As Imperial Law applies to, but is not enforced in, the Synod Tent, the Synod members have latitude in their questioning methods, but will answer for any crimes they commits as part of the inquisition. Refusal to respond to inquisition is a serious crime under Imperial Law. The duration that a person can be subject to inquisition is usually the turn of an hourglass, but additional time can be granted by the Judiciary if they are presented with sufficient grounds or evidence.
Excommunication – Upon the judgement of a National Assembly, the Assembly of Nine or the General Assembly, a priest of the Synod is empowered to deliver a writ of Excommunication upon a Citizen or Citizens who are deemed to be of utterly corrupt and virtueless character. Socially, an excommunicated individual may not hold a Civic Office, such as General or Senator and is stripped of any such office if they do hold it. Additionally, their assets are seized by the Synod on the grounds that they cannot be untrusted to operate them soundly. Spiritually, an excommunicated person may be subjected to further Ceremonial Rites which will effectively severe them from their past lives and, upon death, condemning them to wander the Labyrinth of Ages never again to be reborn. The Empress, Assembly of Nine, or General Assembly may reverse an excommunication.
Recognition – Virtue Assemblies may judge an individual to be an Exemplar of their Virtue Path. Additionally, the General Assembly can weigh the evidence that an individual has met the majority of the Signs of the Paragon and formally declare that an individual was indeed a Paragon. Recognition can take place post-mortem and, in the case of Paragons, this is a requirement.
Doctrine – Only the General Assembly can create, remove or amend one of the Doctrines of the Faith.

The judgement of the Synod

When a Priest calls for their peers to pass judgement on an issue, this is done in the following way:

The Priest approaches the Functionary attached to the Synod to call for judgement on a topic.
The Functionary records the matter raised and makes it visible in the Synod along with whose judgement applies to the matter (i.e. which Assembly's judgement applies) and sets a deadline by which time judgements should be rendered (for example, four waking hours after the issue has been listed for judgement).
The purpose of the deadline is so that Priests who are engaged on vital missions for the Empire are not excluded from being able to offer their judgement on the matter raised.
Priests of the Synod eligible to offer their judgement are expected to check in at the Synod at regular intervals to see if they have been called on to pass judgement.
To pass judgement, a Priest speaks with a Functionary attached to the Synod who records the judgement of the Priest.
A Priest’s weight of judgement is influenced by the size of their congregation (i.e. the status of the Church).
When the time limit has expired, the Functionaries consider the judgements passed by the Priests and record whether the issue has sufficient support of the Assembly to be binding. In the case of the Virtue and National Assemblies, the outcome is decided purely by the judgements-for versus the judgements-against with abstentions being ignored. For the Assembly of Nine and General Assembly, the outcome is determined by majority of total membership.
A judgement made by an Assembly is considered binding on all whom the Assembly has authority, but may not contradict the Imperial Law or Senate.

There is no requirement for Synod members to meet and debate as their Senate contemporaries do, though it is known for Priests of the Synod to consult with one another to ensure they have the support of their Assembly before raising an issue.

Note: In special cases, Assembly powers – such as Inquisition or Excommunication - may be expedited by a clear majority of an Assembly coming to the Functionaries at the Synod Tent directly to demonstrate the support of the Assembly for the action.