Book of Laws


Religion » Haelyn » Book of Laws
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The Book of Laws, Haelyn's most sacred text, appeared in the first temple of Haelyn, the Avelerine Cathedral in Diemed, on the 6th of Pasiphiel. Each year, the priesthood spends the Day of Holy Justice in contemplation of Haelyn?s laws.
The Book of Laws is a sturdy yet beautiful work, containing not only the edicts of Haelyn (split between the rights and duties of each social class and role) but also cautionary tales, proverbs, hymns, prayers, rituals, and some of the most beautiful art known in all Cerilia - Omar ibn Nuri, court poet of Ariya is said to have wept and the sight of the works in the book and returned to advise El-Arrasi that no mortal could create so glorious a work to Avani, stating that it would be the work of a dozen scholars, a hundred scribes, and a thousand artists - for each page is surrounded in its own individual artwork border and many pages contain only images. Omar was ejected shortly after for copying not the sacred words of Haelyn, but the glorious images in the book, the priests of the Orthodox Imperial Temple being offended by his clear impiety.
El-Arrasi is said to have laughed at his poet's tale of woe, and wondered aloud at how the hundreds of missionaries who had spoken of the book had failed to describe a single one of those images - and how the different characters of the Basarji and Anuireans were proven in such a fashion, "to a Basarji, the melody is as important as the words within the song, only an Anuirean would see being tone deaf as an aid to their understanding!"
Although the Book itself is remarkably lacking in detailed laws - scholars indicate because these are the duties of nobles to write and interpret - literally thousands of legal texts have been written about various articles and comments in the Book of Laws. It is how the often highly theoretical statements of the Book of Laws should be brought into practice which causes the vast number of doctrinal disputes within Anuire's churches such as Dominionism, or the theory of Orthodox Principles.
The church draws from centuries of close and sophisticated study of the Book of Laws to defend its exacting dogma, which at its heart holds that a society can thrive only by adhering to a strict rule of law. Laws, the church believes, exist to regulate a person's inclination to place his own needs over those of the society as a whole. The only way to preserve the rule of law is to ensure that every member of society has a specific function with mutual obligations to other members. As it is the responsibility of the ruler to guide the endeavors of his people, so is it the responsibility of the ruled to follow their ruler's dictates.
See Also: Book of Days

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