The Chantry
Well, they showed you a statue, told you to pray, they built you a temple and locked you away. The stained-glass curtain you're hiding behind never lets in the sun, darling only the good die young.
The Chantry is the most wide-spread and powerful religious organization in Thedas. Its faith is built around the teachings of the prophet Andraste, which communicate the will of a supreme being known simply as the Maker. The Chantry began as the Cult of the Maker during the Tevinter Imperium’s rule over most of the known world, but was officially founded and codified by Drakon I shortly after he established the Orlesian Empire. Due to this, the history of the Chantry and the Empire are forever intertwined, and the most sacred buildings and important persons in the religion reside there, particularly in the capital of Val Royeaux. The tenets of the church inform the everyday life of the vast majority of the population, from the lowest commoners to Empresses and Kings. Andrastian faith revolves around the Chant of Light, the holy words laid down by Andraste, or at least the ones the Chantry has decided to include in the Chant, which dictate appropriate behavior for those devoted to the Maker. Most of it is what you might expect, do good things for others, be humble, stand against evil, that sort of thing. There are some sticking points, however. The largest of which is the Chant’s take on magic, namely that is inherently corrupting and needs to be closely monitored and controlled. How extreme that control should be has caused complete religious schisms and wars over the years. Another problem is created by one of the primary goals of the Chantry, which is to spread their religion to literally everybody. Because, supposedly that is the only way to have the Maker return, and make the entire world a paradise, after He abandoned humanity when Tevinter sort of lit His bride on fire. While an admirable goal on the surface, who wouldn’t want to live in heaven on Thedas, you can see how this might be problematic for people who believe in other things or simply don’t want to be part of the Chantry. Most of the time, Andrastians try to persuade the nonbelievers through preaching, but they aren’t afraid to use a more aggressive solution. When it is deemed necessary, the Chantry can call for an Exalted March, essentially a call to war for the faithful against a grave obstacle to the spread of the Chant. Exalted Marches have been called over the centuries against the elves, Tevinter, and the Qunari with varying levels of success.
The hierarchy of the Chantry was strictly legislated for a long time. The head of the church, known as the Divine, sat at the top in a fantastic hat. Below her were her left and right hands, empowered to act with highest authority should the Divine not be present. After that, Grand Clerics are in charge of entire nations, while Revered Mothers watch over a city from its Chantry building, with regular mothers below them. The “strict” part came in when you realize that all of these positions were exclusively held by human women. Dwarves and elves believe in other things, and males of all races are too prone to anger and violence to properly serve. That’s what the Chantry used to think, anyhow, as under the newest Divine, Victoria, that restriction has been done away with. All of the aforementioned positions still exist, they are just open to everyone. The lowest levels of the church, which were more open even before Victoria took control, include a High Chancellor, brothers, sisters, and initiates, and a scholarly wing called Clerics. The military wing is the Templar Order, which kind of doesn’t exist right now. With the amount of change brought on during the conflict against Corypheus and the subsequent reign of Divine Victoria, the Chantry is going through a transition period that will shape it, and the future of Thedas, for many years to come.
A swift side note, just as Tevinter has its own Templars, it also has its own entire Chantry. The Imperial Chantry is based in the Imperium’s capital of Minrathous with the so-called “Black Divine,” who is always male, in charge. In fact, just as the southern Chantry used to only allow females to take most positions of power, the Imperial Chantry only allows males. The other main difference comes from the two Chantries’ views on magic. The Imperial Chantry ignores or twists the parts of the Chant that denounce magic, and also claim that Andraste wasn’t as holy as the southern Chantry does. And that she was a mage, because of course they think that. The two Chantries generally ignore one another, and have only come together to face enormous threats like blights and the Qunari.
