Church of Oghma

The holy symbol of Oghma.
Church of Oghma
Basic Information
Base ofoperations	Orthodox: Procampur, the Vast Exiles: Cormyr, Akanûl, Formerly: Sembia
Symbol	Plain blank scroll, partially unrolled
Favored deity	Oghma
Favored weapon	Longsword
Domains	Balance, Charm, Knowledge, Luck, Skill, Travel, Trickery, Pride
Membership
Alignment	LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE LG NG CG LN N CN LE NE CE

The Church of Oghma was the primary religious organization devoted to the worship and service of Oghma, the Lord of Knowledge. It was once a fully organized religion but, following the Time of Troubles and the disappearance of Cullen Kordamant, the Grand Patriarch of the church, it experienced a schism, splitting into multiple factions, key among them the Orthodox Church of Oghma, or simply the Orthodoxy, and the Church of Oghma in Sembia, later known as the Oghmanyte Church in Exile.

Dogma

The Church of Oghma held that knowledge was supreme, especially in its purest form—the idea. Though formless, a simple idea could have the greatest influence on the world. This was summarized in an aphorism of the faith that, if said aloud, also served as a prayer, "An idea has no heft but it can move mountains. An idea has no authority but it can dominate people. An idea has no strength but it can push aside empires. Knowledge is the greatest tool of the mortal mind, outweighing anything made by mortal hands. Before anything else can exist, the idea must exist." In essence, knowledge was power, but it must be used responsibly and hiding knowledge from the world could never be a good thing. In turn, ignorance was a shackle of the mind, preventing beings from providing their full benefits to their fellows.

Hence, the faithful were instructed to encourage and innovation and new ideas, no matter what they led to; gather and preserve knowledge so it was not lost; and disseminate knowledge as far as they could so it could be of benefit to everyone. They should also not suppress any new ideas, even if they seemed irrational or false, but instead allow them to be heard and considered freely. Yet they were also required to restrain and refute lies, rumors, and deceptive accounts and so they opposed people who promoted trickery, deception, and ignorance.

Singers and bards were to be appreciated and listened to when first heard. A follower of Oghma should never kill a singer and should not stand idly by while a singer or bard was attacked.

A set of commandments commonly imparted to novices was as follows: "Spread knowledge whenever it is prudent to do so. Keep no secrets for their own sake. Curb and deny falsehood, rumor, and deceitful accounts and histories whenever you encounter them. Write or copy some lore of value and give it away freely at least once a year. Hide some writings away while distributing others widely so that the written knowledge of Faerûn is larger when you leave life than when you entered it. Sponsor, assist, and teach minstrels, bards, scribes, and recordkeepers whenever you encounter them and perceive a need. Spread truth and knowledge throughout the Realms so that all folk may know more. Never deliver a message falsely or incompletely, but always just as you receive it. Teach any folk who ask how to read and write or as much of these crafts as time and tasks permit—and charge no fee for this teaching."

However, the Orthodox Church of Oghma and the Church of Oghma in Sembia, later in Exile, disagreed on several points of doctrine. In the mid-to-late 1300s DR, the Sembian church was deeply conservative and emphasized that all knowledge must be applied and tested to determine that it has merit before it can be disseminated, rather than being hoarded away. In the late 1400s DR, the Orthodoxy prioritized recording the past and researching history in order to "know all that can be known about what is and has been". In contrast, the Exiles focused on using past knowledge to make predictions and preparations for the future, even arguing that it was unholy not to, as they believed that "knowledge of the past is the key to the future". The two approaches might be described as passive versus active, but sages like Elminster considered this a "gross oversimplification".

In the 15^th century DR, there arose a belief or heresy, depending on the faction, suggesting that Grand Patriarch Kordamant's fate had been concealed by Oghma as a test of faith for his priests, to determine whether they would hold to the quest of discovering and recording knowledge, or if they would fall prey to power struggles and reinterpretations of scripture.

Organization

A senior priest and two lesser priests conducting rites over the Key of Faith, a holy spellbook in the form of a key.

The Church of Oghma was open to all, welcoming people of every race and every philosophy, and while clerics could be of any moral alignment, they tended to be neutral, lawful neutral, or chaotic neutral. The only requirement was that would-be priests vowed to follow the faith of Oghma, showed knowledge of its teachings, and devoted themselves to collecting, preserving, and applying knowledge. In order to be confirmed as a priest, an acolyte must display either steadfast service to the faith, genuine loyalty to Oghma, or inspiration that was both good and useful, and for this to be recognized by no less than two priests. These two would then invest the acolyte as a true priest and bestow an official priestly title such as loremaster.

There were traditionally two kinds of clergy in the Church of Oghma: the cloistered ones who stayed in the abbeys, temples, and monasteries to read, write, and research, and the wayfaring ones who traveled the world to acquire new knowledge to bring back to them. The cloistered clergy were often scholarly sorts more comfortable with books than people, while the wayfaring clergy were usually curious, adventurous, and liked to live well, who were vexed by petty church rules and squabbles and by the cloistered's fussiness and pedantry, and wanted to get away and out into the real world. The two kinds sometimes had disputes on ideological matters, but rarely more than mild disapproval. They needed one another too much.

Originally, the Church of Oghma was highly organized and well-established across Faerûn—one of the few fully organized religions in the Realms—with a recognized orthodoxy and a complete network of temples that adhered to it. Its entire hierarchy was dedicated to the service of the Grand Patriarch of Oghma, a pontiff based at the Domes of Reason in Procampur. Considered the "Voice of Oghma" on Toril, the Grand Patriarch's word was something the faithful would swear by. In the mid–14^th century DR, the Grand Patriarch of Oghma was Cullen Kordamant of the Domes of Reason in Procampur.

However, in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, during the Time of Troubles, Cullen Kordamant, along with most of his supporting clergy, vanished without a trace. With the Church of Oghma left without an ultimate leader, this sparked a schism within Oghma's faithful, resulting in the church fracturing into a wide range of factions and subfactions in the late 1300s DR that strenuously disagreed on matters of hierarchy, not only on theology. The two most significant factions were the Orthodox Church of Oghma, based in Procampur, and the Church of Oghma in Sembia, later the Oghmanyte Church in Exile. The Orthodoxy was the largest and maintained that Cullen was still serving Oghma in some capacity—whether on another plane or ascended to semi-divinity or both—and therefore would remain Patriarch until he was confirmed deceased or Oghma himself updated them. They would not name a replacement nor recognize any other claimant to the title until that time. Next largest was the Church of Oghma in Sembia, which declared a new Great Patriarch had been appointed by Oghma—namely their own high cleric, Undryl Yannathar—whom the Orthodoxy rejected. The various churches and orders supported one faction or another, though not necessary in their entirety; for example, the Pursuers of Pure Knowledge in Mintar supported the Sembians' view on the hierarchy, but did not agree with their theology.

The situation went unresolved and, by the late 1400s, the Church of Oghma remained fragmented, comprising independent individual temples and small networks of allied temples, now not unlike most other religions of the Realms.

Titles

Up until around 1370 DR, all priests of the Church of Oghma were commonly referred to as loremasters, regardless of gender. Regardless of rank, all priests addressed each other as 'Brother' or 'Sister', while lay worshipers and nonmembers would refer to priests as Lord Loremaster or Lady Loremaster, as a polite form of address.

However, from around 1372 DR, priests of Oghma were called Namers and b the late 1400s DR, priests of both branches were formally called Namers, while Orthodox priests were also called lorekeepers. In any case, all priests, no matter their branch of the faith, were popularly called simply Keepers. Again, the branches disagreed, with the Orthodox priests declaring this to be an abbreviation of Keepers of the Faith and the Exile priests that it was Keepers of Knowledge. The adjective for the faith was 'Oghmanyte' and, perhaps fortunately, all priests could be called Oghmanytes without confusion.

Within the hierarchies, acolytes were called Seekers, or Senior Seekers if they'd made some achievements. After that, titles for confirmed priests varied according to the region and branch of the faith. As used by the Orthodox Church, the most widely recognized ranks were, in order from lowest to highest, Loremaster, Loremaster Amanuensis, Loremaster Venturer, Loremaster Bold, Scribe of the God, Wise Anticipator, Inspirator, Inspirator High, Atlar, Higher Atlar, Loremaster High, Loremaster Most High, Eye of Oghma, and Divine Hand of Oghma. Titles specific to the Church of Oghma in Sembia and the Pursuers of Pure Knowledge in Mintar were, in ascending order, Advocate, Accomplished Advocate, Loremaster of the Twelfth, Loremaster of the Eleventh, and through to Loremaster of the Second, Loremaster High, Learned One, and Patriarch.

Classes

The church included clerics, monks, and specialty priests called lorekeepers, as well as a small assortment bards and wizards, and even experts, rangers, rogues, and sorcerers. It was common for clerics to also train as bards and occasionally as wizards and even the prestige spellcasters also known as loremasters.4

Orders

The Church of Oghma did not officially sponsor any knighthoods or militant orders, but it did sponsor or support numerous bardic colleges, monastic fellowships, guilds of herbalists and naturalists, and orders of honor or merit for scholars. The most notable included:

• The Children of the Passive Voice: An erudite monk order that defended abbeys and libraries;
• The Companions of the Silver Strings: An order of valiant bards who served the Church of Oghma;
• The Fellows of the Forest: A society for naturalists; and
• The Order of the Gilt Laurel: An honorary society for authors of historical fiction;

The church also often worked closely with the Harpers and with the Moonstars.

Activities

A blank scroll, Oghma's holy symbol.

The core work of both branches of the Church of Oghma was the collection, preservation, and distribution of written works and the promotion and dissemination of knowledge and literacy. To this end, they maintained extensive libraries and hunted for knowledge, both written down and orally preserved, all around the world. They also taught, aided, and sponsored bards, singers, recordkeepers, and scribes as needed. Members of the church were expected to follow the doctrine of the faith and spend some of their time in service to it, with the Waterdhavian church requiring ten hours each tenday working in its libraries.

The cloistered clergy stayed in their abbeys, temples, and monasteries to read and copy texts and spells as required, to conduct research and analysis, and to file works in their libraries and archives. The temples supported themselves with scribing services and by selling maps and spell scrolls. Copied from genuine maps, the maps they sold could be known to be inaccurate in some areas, but they would not sell a map that was known to be deliberately false, nor would they sell a copy of one.

The wayfaring clergy instead journeyed the world to locate and acquire new texts and knowledge for the church libraries. Along the way, they recorded their observations and experiences and regularly checked in with Oghmanyte temples they came across. Temples usually provided wayfarers with money to buy texts or spell scrolls to sell. Independent priests and wayfaring priests whose funds had run low would support themselves by teaching; supplying information or advice for a fee; making and selling maps, books, and writing implements and blank books; or writing letters, poetry, or music for employers and patrons to order, which could be anything from advertisements to formal business documents, from love letters to bespoke romantic fiction. Wealthier and entrepreneurial priests could even sponsor or invest in theatres, acting troupes, and touring productions and in writing or publishing businesses. Some big-city priests gained great prosperity from work in the arts and entertainment industries.

Each priest had to copy a valuable written work of lore and then give it away at least once each year and copy an important piece of information at least once a month, to ensure the expansion of records and the preservation of knowledge. Moreover, every priest was expected to write at least one book of their own in their lifetime, have it published, and arrange for it to be delivered to no less than three temples of Oghma. This book had to accurately depict a real place or people in order to present the reader with true knowledge. Otherwise, the book could be anything, from a chapbook of song lyrics recorded from performing minstrels to a romantic novel. In addition, priests were urged to cultivate musical skills of some kind, and would receive tutoring from senior priests or accomplished bards.

In the Shining South, Oghma was called Curna, a goddess of wisdom and part of the faith of the Adama. Here, the clergy of Curna were hired to write contracts and to provide information and advice. They could even serve as advisors to wealthy merchants and assisted them in negotiations by discerning the moods of their rivals. Merchants and others starting new ventures or making important deals gave tribute to Curna via her priests. Those at the Library of Curna oversaw and supplied teams of scholars and explorers to actively update and expand their archives.

As part of their cause to advance literacy as far as they could, followers of Oghma taught people to read and write, free of charge, at least if they had the time. In the late 14^th century, most of the literate folk in Faerûn had learned the skill from either their parents or from priests of Oghma or Deneir. More generally, they encouraged interests in reading, theater, and music and also lobbied for bards, actors, and performers and sages, experts, and researchers to accepted in society and at court.

Rituals

Every priest was expected to solemnly observe two daily rituals, the Binding and the Covenant, which were called the Cornerstones of the Day. The Binding was a morning ceremony in which the priest would make silent prayers of loyalty and praise to Oghma whilst writing mystic symbols of the faith in dirt, in ashes on a stone altar, or even in their own mind if unable to write for some reason, such as being tied up. The Covenant, meanwhile, was an evening service wherein priests would present a passage from a work of wisdom, recite a poem, sing a song, or speak about something they had learned that day. These were read aloud or recited from memory and were shared with fellow priests, the laity, and the god himself.

For the rest of the day, the abbeys, temples, and monasteries would hold services every couple of hours or so for reading from classic books of lore, history, or philosophy. In addition to the Cornerstones, nearly all had their own unique rituals and many even had one set of rituals for resident priests and a different set for visiting priests and lay worshipers. Clerics would also pray for their spells in the mornings.

Midsummer and Shieldmeet were observed as holy days by the church because they were traditionally times for making or renewing agreements and pacts and for writing and signing bonds, deeds, and contracts.

A youth who followed Oghma underwent the Naming when they entered their teenage years, at age 12 for a human or the equivalent for other races. In this private ceremony, local priests revealed to the youth their True Name. This was to be used only in personal prayer to Oghma and be kept secret from all others, even their closest family and friends, as the True Name signified one's true nature and was believed to give power over them.

Symbol

A sketch of the holy symbol of Oghma.

The holy symbol of the Church of Oghma was a blank scroll, plain and partially unrolled.

A secondary symbol of the faith was the symbol of Chelsinara, an important priestess in the church's early history. Meaning "I learn," it was formed of two cupped hands with thumbs touching and fingers pointing upward. This was a badge used by the followers of Oghma, priests and lay persons alike, to indicate their membership of the faith.

Bases of Operations

A shrine to Oghma.

Temples

Temples to Oghma looked much like libraries; it was common to see acolytes at their desks, studying and copying books, scrolls, and maps. They also usually had large and well-equipped bookbinderies for the publishing of both religious texts and regular books to add to other temple libraries. The temples raised funds by providing writing services and selling writing implements and maps; adventurers were common customers. Naturally, Oghmanyte temples were much more likely to be found in cities than in the wilds.

Notable Locations

Some significant temples, libraries, and monasteries devoted to Oghma included:

• Candlekeep, a fortress-library and the center of lore (especially history) in Faerûn and also the most sacred site for Oghma.
• The Domes of Reason in Procampur, leader of the Orthodox Church of Oghma.
• The Tower of Thought in Selgaunt, leader of the Church of Oghma in Sembia.
• The Leaves of Learning, a temple in Highmoon and center of the faith in the Dalelands, renowned for the Index of Danali.
• The House of Many Tomes, a fortified abbey in upland Impiltur.
• The Font of Knowledge in Waterdeep, completed in only 1368 DR.
• The Library of Curna in the Curna Mountains, the center of the faith and learning in the Shining Lands, which focused on business, current affairs, and naturer.

Relationships

The church had strong ties with New Olamn bardic college and the Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild in Waterdeep, and was financially supported by the Estelmer and Majarra noble families in the City of Splendors.

In the mid-to-late 1300s DR, Oghmanytes were concerned by some inventions originating in Lantan, notably firearms. They felt that the church of Gond was not thinking their creations through as much as they should.

Possessions

A priest of Oghma in the traditional garb of the church.

Vestments for all clergy comprised a white shirt with wide sleeves tied at the wrists, trousers, and a black vest adorned in symbols in gold braid, called a kantlara. Atop their heads, they wore a small box-like hat but only during ceremonies and only on grounds holy to Oghma; it was removed at other times and places. As well as this, the Sembian Church added a thin black harlequin's mask, which they wore at all times, but only within the realm of Sembia. Oghma's holy symbol could be worn as a silver scroll on a chain as a necklace.

The kantlara was the most important piece of attire, however. Whenever a priest rose in rank, they would often receive a dream vision showing them a certain symbol, which they would then sew onto their vest using gold braid. These could be any size and could be placed anywhere on the vest, as the wearer preferred. The symbols, too, were widely varying, with glyphs, runes, sigils, and other images of magical power, arcane significance, or important meaning from many realms and from many periods of history all known to be found on kantlara. As a result, each priest's kantlara was unique and deeply personal to them. Should a priest somehow lose or be parted from their kantlara, they were permitted a replacement. This was a crimson or purple vest bearing the blank-scroll holy symbol of Oghma upon the back and the symbol of Chelsinara on each breast.

Away from the church, priests followed a very relaxed code of dress, simply wearing whatever they wished, though Sembians retained their mask when in Sembia. Priests caught up in combat usually preferred as much armor as they could wear.

In addition, priests often had with them a musical instrument of some kind on which to practice, and of course something to write with. Particularly common were the magical pens of Oghma, quills that never broke or blotted, that produced their own ink, and shed light with which to see, read, or write.

Magic

Spells

A number of spells and prayers were unique to Oghmanyte priests or were closely associated with them:

• Duplicate
• Impart knowledge
• Spellbind

Many divine spells commonly used by Oghmanytes and those that were unique to the church were recorded in the Key of Faith, a holy spellbook that took the form of a key. However, its magical knowledge was open to all priests.

Circa 1479 DR, a priest of Oghma could channel divinity and use the divine spell Oghma's recall, making them vastly more knowledgeable for a short period of time. A Chosen of Oghma received the power of supreme knowledge, wherein their understanding of a creature gave them control and the ability to avoid its attacks.

Magic Items

Some noted magic items associated with the faith were:

• The headband of the Binder
• Pen of Oghma

History

“

In the name of the most holy Great Scrivener, I declare my tales to be true. Under his compassionate guidance I can tell no lie nor can I always tell the truth. My quill rushes at the bidding of the past and the present, though some would stop it from recording things unpleasant or mournful. Nay, he who gives us knowledge and our ways to keep it demands these things be known as much as those that give us joy. Question it I do not, for I am but a humble scribe. The tale will be told, for it is not his will to allow knowledge to fall away from our minds in order to rot in the sun like spoiled dates fallen from a tree.

”

— Mualak yn Dulah yn Abbas, Scribe of the Qysar Amahl Shoon IV.

During the Time of Troubles in the Year of Shadows, 1358 DR, the Grand Patriarch of Oghma Cullen Kordamant disappeared without a trace from his home in Procampur, as did much of his immediate clergy. The disappearance was a subject of much mystery and speculation. Unfortunately, answers from Oghma and other gods on his whereabouts were confused and conflicting, providing no clear solution. Though some thought that Kordamant simply died during the chaos, others claimed that it was actually Oghma who died, and the Grand Patriarch ascended to replace him. Some admitted the possibility that the Patriarch might be on another plane or had ascended to semi-divinity. Kordamant's home in Procampur became a shrine to Oghma.

With the Church of Oghma operating without an ultimate leader, the first year after the Time of Troubles saw the regional churches continue to cooperate, but already there was a widening rift between those in Cormyr and those in Sembia. Though tensions appeared insignificant to outsiders, the next ten years saw relations between churches deteriorate further, cooperation become fragile, and the Church of Oghma fracture into a number of factions and sub-factions, strenuously disagreeing along hierarchical and theological lines. Two significant factions emerged. The largest, the Orthodox Church of Oghma in Procampur, believed that Kordamant had ascended to semi-divinity and was currently serving Oghma directly, but he remained the only true Grand Patriarch until he was proven dead or Oghma commanded otherwise or named a successor. The second largest, the Church of Oghma in Sembia, claimed that a new Grand Patriarch had in fact already been appointed by Oghma himself—their own high cleric Undryl Yannathar, whom the Orthodox Church refused to recognize. The Sembian church also disagreed with the Orthodox Church on the dissemination of knowledge, teaching that knowledge must be tested and proven "worthy" before being released to the public.

Finally, at an arts festival in Sembia in the late 1360s DR, a loremaster of the Church of Oghma in Sembia made a keynote address founded on certain assumptions that upset a sizeable Cormyrean Orthodox delegation. The Cormyrean and Sembian churches cut relations entirely by 1370 DR, with clergy forbidden from even entering each other's temples. As a consequence, a schism formed in the faith. Unwilling to find common ground, the Orthodox and Sembian factions pressured churches across Faerûn to formally declare their allegiance, and most had aligned themselves with one or the other, to some degree, by 1372 DR. For example, the Pursuers of Pure Knowledge in Mintar sided with the Sembians, adopting their stance on the hierarchy, but disagreeing on points of theology. Even within these factions, there was jostling for power: High Loremaster Librarian Estember Orntalar waged a vicious power struggle to succeed the Patriarch and lead the Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, Loremaster Most Exalted Prespaerin Cadathlyn reported to have achieved "a new closeness" to Oghma and adopted the title "Binder of Faerûn". One high point of this period was the foundation of a new grand temple to Oguma, the Font of Knowledge in Waterdeep, which was completed around Midsummer in the Year of the Banner, 1368 DR, and was led by Loremaster Most High Sandrew the Wise, Savant of Oghma. With it, the Church of Oghma quickly became a major faith in Waterdeep.

By 1374 DR, the two factions were actively competing to convert all other churches to their respective doctrines. It was presumed a good number of the clergy were even working to undermine the efforts of their rivals but, fortunately, open hostilities were highly unlikely. This schism continued unabated for over a century, seeming to be a fundamental sickness in the faith, or more likely an assault on it from some external entity.

Later, as the realm of Sembia was absorbed by the revived Empire of Netheril by 1400 DR and the outlawing of worship of all deities but Shar, the Church of Oghma in Sembia moved its base to, perhaps surprisingly, Cormyr, becoming known as the Oghmanyte Church in Exile.

But then, even more surprisingly, Undryl Yannathar retired from his position and even left the Oghmanyte Church in Exile some time before 1455 DR, leaving the position of Grand Patriarch vacant once more. Advised by the rakshasa Kalkan, his followers traveled to the nation of Akanûl, gathering new followers in that land. After Yannathar's death, a former Orthodox priest of Oghma, the dwarf Landrew, helped found a new group that broke away even from the Church of Oghma in Exile, calling it the Church of All Tomorrows. The Church of All Tomorrows taught that Oghma's knowledge was incomplete, for Oghma could never unerringly foretell the future. The Church of All Tomorrows offered Oghmanytes the "true power" of knowledge of the future, which Kalkan gained from an ancient Imaskari magic item known as the damos. In the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR, the group planned on sacrificing a servant of Oghma's Orthodox Church in order to formally end its ties to Oghma and embrace the mysterious Voice of Tomorrow as its patron. They were nearly thwarted by the deva Demascus, but Demascus himself became the sacrifice.

Meanwhile, the Oghmanyte Church in Exile remaining in Cormyr occupied a former temple to Deneir in Suzail, called the Silent Room. There, circa 1480 DR, High Namer Wyndel Sedranis worked to resolve the schism, writing often to other temples to argue for a new Grand Patriarch to be appointed, with plans to send emissaries if his missives were unsuccessful.

In any case, by 1489 DR, the Church of Oghma remained fragmented.

Notable Members of the Church of Oghma

• St. Vetheera, a saint of the churches of Jergal and Oghma from the city of Baldur's Gate in the late 15^th century DR.

Appendix

Gallery

A pendant with Oghma's holy symbol.

Connections

Churches of the Faerûnian Pantheon

Major Deities
Azuth • Bane • Bhaal • Chauntea • Cyric • Gond • Helm • Ilmater • Kelemvor • Kossuth • Lathander • Loviatar • Mask • Mielikki • Myrkul • Mystra • Oghma • Selûne • Shar • Shaundakul • Silvanus • Sune • Talos • Tempus • Torm • Tymora • Tyr • Umberlee • Waukeen
Other Members
Akadi • Auril • Beshaba • Deneir • Eldath • Finder Wyvernspur • Garagos • Gargauth • Grumbar • Gwaeron Windstrom • Hoar • Ibrandul • Istishia • Iyachtu Xvim • Jergal • Leira • Lliira • Lurue • Malar • Milil • Nobanion • The Red Knight • Savras • Sharess • Shiallia • Siamorphe • Talona • Tiamat • Ubtao • Ulutiu • Valkur • Velsharoon