Here's something I wrote on the subject, all IMHO of course: Sorry, second try <deep sigh>:
In the early Third Age, the main division in the Seshnelan church was over how much to purge the church of pagan influences, which the hierarchy saw as corruptions sent by the God-Learners. =
The Purifiers (who were mostly Rokari) went to great extremes, condemning city saints and guild patrons as pagan. The Realists said that such saints predated the God-Learners and that, in any case, they served a useful role with the lower castes. Their fierce political battle came into the open over the succession after the first Ecclesiarch, Juwayrai, died. The relatively young Purifier bishop of Segurane, Gerar, vied with the older Realist bishop of Arnlor, Renfeu. =
The Duke of Tanisor supported Renfeu, who succeeded to the post and ruled for twenty years. This averted a schism, as Renfeu was a great diplomat. His answer to the split was twofold. He purged the rites for the lordly and priestly castes, removing all pagan influences. At the same time, he blessed all but the rankest of the lower caste saints and rites. After Renfeu died, Gerar came to "hold the golden wand and wear the mantle." By then, though, he was old and deaf, and he could not reverse Renfeu's policy. He outlawed a few minor guild patrons.
Some of the Purifiers took matters to extremes, and condemned icons and amulets as being pagan and God-Learner snares. Those who smashed the icons were known as Iconoclasts, but they never took power. Their influence remains, and even today there are Iconoclasts in every Rokari city. =
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