Church of Lathander

The Church of Lathander was an organization that comprised the collective practitioners of the faith surrounding Lathander the Morninglord. It was among the most popular and wealthiest churches in all of Faerûn, albeit one that experienced much tumult during the early Era of Upheaval.

Organization
The Lathanderite faith held no singular authority over the faith or hierarchy that bound individual churches to one another. Each priest held sole jurisdiction over their own temple, shrine, or congregation, regardless of their rank or title within the church.

Titles
Titles within the church included (in descending order): Sunrise Lord, High Mornmaster, Mornmaster, High Morninglord, Morninglord, Dawnmaster, High Dawnlord, Dawnlord, Dawngreeter, Dawnbringer, and Awakened for novitiates.

Activities
Followers of Lathander were directed to provide aid unto others and promote innovation to better the lives of folks in the Realms. They cultivated lands that were otherwise barren, culled monstrous creatures to make way for new settlements, fought off the forces of evil, and imparted civilized ideals to discordant locales. Lathanderians offered much assistance to adventurers, pilgrims, or others that traveled across the Realms. They made efforts to recover long-lost relics, magic items, or creative works such as literature or art in order to further their own innovative endeavors.

Local temples often sponsored non-combative athletic events, such as wrestling, archery, riding, running, swimming, and the like. Additionally, they honored creative competition in the arts, including the arts such as literature.

Heads of Lathanderian temples occasionally met at conferences whenever issues affecting the church at large had to be addressed.

Places of Worship
Lathanderite temples were among the most opulent places of worship, especially among those found throughout northwest Faerûn. While this was not always the case, it was more common than not.

Beliefs
Lathanderians considered cycles of growth and renewal, especially with regards to the natural world. They greatly valued beauty, culture, and art

Attitudes
Clergy of Lathander strived to remain imaginative and productive in mind, body, and spirit. They were directed to always act with consideration and forethought, in order to most easily bring positive change to the world.

While they did not require others to praise Lathander to benefit from their altruism, Lathanderians highly encouraged his worship among the more goodly folks of the Realms. They would not refuse service or withhold aid to those that did not revere the Morninglord.

Orders
The church's clergy were specialty priests were known as morninglords, which comprised just over one third of its clergy. Many of them served as adventurers that helped spread the faith and carry out Lathander's will across the Realms.