>I do have to agree with David Hall that Nick Effingham's "St.
>Orlanth" looked more as Sartar with sorcery than the West.
I find such an approach somewhat appropriate for northern Otkorion, which has more Lankst "tribe" inhabitants than it has Westerners. The south could well be different, as well as the none-Otkorian members of that religion in the rest of Safelster (Tinaros, Sentanos, Kustria mainly).
>And Surantyr is really bold if he uses the Nonheretic when talking with
>a malkioni.
Don't you get suspicious when a bishop (or in this case archbishop) needs to stress his non-heretic belief? No smoke without a fire...
>I will discuss the other thing that I did not like: SAINT Orlanth.
> There is a clear difference to me between Saints and Gods. Gods are
>powerful (some all-powerful, their followers say) entities that you may
>worship, either to get something, or just to give thanks for making the
>world such a wonderful place (or to avoid it becoming even worse).
> Saints are mortals whose life was a show of right behaviour. By
>following their example, and living rightly, you hope to receive some
>benefit -from God-, usually salvation. They are a means, not an end in
>themselves. Usually their exalted position enables them to help those that
>follow their footsteps, specially in a magic rich world as Glorantha.
While I don't know whether this might be remembered in western Ralios, but in fact Orlanth might fit the bill for "saint" better than that for "god" early on in his career. Divine ancestry nonewithstanding, his cult is the typical founder-chieftain apotheosized cult. IMG, the "real history" of the pre-Dawn world has "Orlanth" as one member (or several) of the ruling dynasty of a "Storm" tribe. For Kerofinela and Saird, we know the details of the myth. In Ralios, things are likely to have been different. Otkorion was part of the Korioni tribe of the Enerali, which IMO should find some echo in the cult description - maybe some obscure subcult, with holy places in bygone Galanini centres of power (Hrelar Amali, for instance).
The original Malkioni saints - Malkion and Hrestol - were about as divine as young Orlanth when they did their great deeds. Malkion was a god by theist standards (son of Aerlit the Kolating, a lesser (?) god of the air, and Warera Triolina, a "greater nymph" of the Manthi tribe IIRC). Hrestol received the apple of divinity before performing the quests and undergoing the trials which made him a saint.
>Saint's blessings, however, do not depend on an established cult structure
>but on the private behaviour of the individual. They are personal, not
>communitary.
Divine spells are a personal power, too, and usually require some form of special initiation ("Learning the Spell").
>Most Malkioni (Rokari, Hrestoli, Galvosti, Boristi, Sedalpists...)
>consider there is no other God that the Invisible God.
Like with the Jews of Moses' time, I am far from sure that they say there are no other gods. The commandment might as well say: there are other gods, but you mustn't worship them beside your own god. (And nitpickers quickly say: and what about below your own god? - voila the Henotheists, or Serpent King era worshippers of Malkion's Way.)
I wish I could find a term applicable to both deities subsumed in the Aeolian Church and mortals and heroes worshipped as subcults, other than "saint". (Especially since, as a Lutheran protestant, I have no personal experience with Saint worship, or reverence, at all.)
I guess that since Glorantha is written within the European cultural frame and using English terminology, "saint" is the easiest parallel to describe the position of these entities. In RQ, this might be called Hero Cult.
End of Glorantha Digest V4 #237
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