The Church of Seiros

The Church's founder and namesake, Saint Seiros, was said to have been given a revelation, a "gift to help guide the lost", from the Goddess who was watching over Fódlan. Seiros first appeared in the Enbarr region of Fódlan 41 years before the founding of the Adrestian Empire. She performed miracles that inspired the people, and the Church of Seiros was founded to venerate her.

In Imperial Year 185, Garreg Mach Monastery, which served as the administrative center of the Church, was completed. While the Adrestian Empire partially broke apart, all three countries – the Empire, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance – kept some ties to the Church. The constant threat of invasion from countries surrounding the continent eventually forced these three powers to band together under the Church.  Garreg Mach Monastery was considered independent of all three nations.  

Around 1065, the Southern Church, based in the Imperial capital, incited a massive uprising that engulfed the Empire. In the aftermath, the Southern Church was dissolved and replaced by the Ministry of Religion led by House Varley.

In the present era, the three nations exist in relative peace and equilibrium, largely thanks to the mediating influence of the Church and the efforts of Archbishop Rhea. The Church also runs the Officers Academy, which trains the royalty and nobility of Fódlan in the arts of warfare, magic, and leadership.

Beliefs

Worship of the Goddess

While the church is named after Saint Seiros, their focus of worship is on Sothis. It is considered disrespectful to say her name without good reason, so she is often just spoken of as the Goddess.   The Goddess is seen as being omnipresent, but lacks a physical form on Earth. It is believed that the spirits of the Goddess' followers will ascend into the sky after death, to join the Goddess in the afterlife.

Peace Above All Else

In the Church of Seiros, conflict is highly despised. While the Church does need to occasionally employ military force, they do so swiftly and efficiently to reduce civilian casualties. Everything they do is to ensure a lasting peace, even if that requires taking away certain freedoms. Even on an individual scale, believers are asked to put aside their grievances.

Seclusion and Reservation

The Church of Seiros encourages looking inward, and leaving other nations to their own devices. Open relation with other nations are discouraged, though not outright banned. The Church also states that uncontrolled technological progress would lead to disaster. As such, many technologies are banned across Fodlan. Occasionally, a technology is approved for re-examination, and sometimes a ban or two is lifted.

Dissenters of the Church state that these rules are meant to prevent the people of Fodlan from reaching their true potential, while supporters argue that these are needed to keep peace between the nations so that none may overpower the others.

Tolerance, to a Degree.

While the Church of Seiros do claim superiority over the other religions of the world, that doesn't mean that they outright deny other religions. They do not claim that their Goddess is the only one in the world, and as such can coexist with some other religions.

The standard rule of whether or not a belief is allowed is whether or not it denies their Goddess. So long as a person is willing to believe in the Goddess' existence, they need not worship her. This applies to both natives of Fodlan and outsiders. In Duscur, for instance, they welcomed the Goddess of Fodlan into their own pantheon.