Icon of the Great Orthodoxy as seen in Total War: Warhammer III.
The supreme patriarch is the high priest of one of the four traditional Kislevite cults who also serves as the de facto governing high priest of the newly-formed Great Orthodoxy, a faith which is a combined organisation uniting the hierarchies of the Cult of Ursun, the Cult of Tor, the Cult of Dazh and the Cult of Salyak.[1][2a]
The current Supreme Patriarch of the Great Orthodoxy is Kostaltyn, who is also the supreme patriarch of the Cult of Ursun, the most popular and powerful of the Kislevite faiths.[1][2a]
History[]
The Great Orthodoxy was founded by Tzar Boris Bokha during his reign as part of his great project of reuniting Kislev. Before the emergence of the Orthodoxy, the cults to the various Kislevite gods were widely divergent in theology and practice, often using rites deep in the woods or on solitary hills of the oblasts conducted by the Ungol hags, witches and other undesirables that present-day patriarchs of the Great Orthodoxy would declare "heathen."[1][2a]
Kostaltyn, Supreme Patriarch of the Cult of Ursun and High Priest of the Great Orthodoxy of Kislev as depicted in Total War: Warhammer III, wielding the Brazier Mace of Ursun.
The tzar had a valid concern that such rituals could be subsumed by the Chaos Gods, and so the Great Orthodoxy was formed to effectively codify Kislevite religion. The cults dedicated to each individual Kislevite god, such as the Cults of Ursun, Tor, Salyak and Dazh, were allowed to remain active but must do so under the strict oversight of the centralised priesthood of the Great Orthodoxy.[1][2a]
The Great Orthodoxy is still only a generation old but is growing stronger and more powerful; many Kislevites still prefer to cling to the old ways and utterly reject this centralisation, while others have learned to work within the strictures of the new faith and are able to wield the Great Orthodoxy's might to their own ends.[1][2a]
Kostaltyn, the new supreme patriarch of the Cult of Ursun and thus also de facto leader of the Great Orthodoxy, is certainly one of the latter, yet Tzar Boris' daughter and successor, Tzarina Katarin Bokha, is seen by many as being a supporter of the "old faith," in the mold of the ancient Gospodar khan-queens. As such, those Kislevites who oppose the dictums of the Great Orthodoxy tend to give their support to her. This religious divide has led to friction and animosity between the supreme patriarch and the tzarina in recent years.[1][2a]
Sources[]
- 1: Who is Kostaltyn of Kislev? (Archived)
- 2: Total War: Warhammer III (PC Game)