Sorority (Cairony)

Within the context of the Cairan clergy, a sorority is an assembly of senior clergywomen which, typically, directs the internal structure of the argan and the administration of faithly matters within its area of operation. In most argans, and almost all recognised state-argans, this includes the election of a Holy Mother.

The sorority is in many respects a reflection within Cairony of the secular concilium or parliament of the Sabāmanian empires of the antiquity, and is thus composed in a similar, broadly respublican, fashion. Although the model may vary in particulars from one argan to another, the sorority will have as members all clergy of archmatronal status, all matrons with charge of individual familiae, and other matrons subject to specific criteria. In keeping with this history, for much of Cairony’s existence as a distinct faith its clergy were of the nobility, although this was arguably a stipulation tied to the argan’s secular power rather than a matter of doctrine. This criterion has been relaxed to the point of extinction in more modern times as more broadly-based concepts of a political franchise have developed.

In general, the sorority assembles to debate theological and doctrinal matters or more mundane administrative issues, from issues of internal discipline and structure – including revisions to the size and number of individual familiae or triburions – up to questions over reform within the argan itself. The sorority is also tasked with dealing with corruption or criminal cases within the clergy, as well as heresy. In these cases, the sorority functions as a collegiate tribunal.

It should perhaps be noted that the weight and influence carried by the sorority – as against that held by its appointed Holy Mother – may vary widely across argans. Certainly, it is far from unusual for Holy Mothers in more strongly monarchical countries to wield substantial influence; and in almost all such countries, the Holy Mother’s authority is such that she is one of the few people permitted to address the monarch on familiar terms.

The Ecumenical Sorority

At a more elevated level, there exist – as separate entities within the Orthodox and Reform communions – wider sororal bodies, usually known as the Ecumenical or Grand Sorority, which is composed of the Holy Mothers of all state and dissident argans within their remit (either in person or through authorised deputies, typically the individual argan’s claviger).

The original Ecumenical Sorority assembled for the first time in Etamps-La-Sainte in in the early 14th century following the demise of the Montalbian Empire. It was tasked with trying to broker an agreement to reunite the various post-imperial argans, especially under conservative pressure. However, the continuing political division of the Cairan world and the growing influence of Orange Revivalism, as well as the eventual defeat of the theocratic experiment of the Arganite States, made the Sorority a permanent reality; and, by the 16th century, the Ecumenical Sorority represented all state argans, including those of the Dael Rite.

It became a chamber of theological and doctrinal debate, often focused on the question of what was orthodox and what should fall under sentence of heresy. The Sorority was rocked by the spread of the Reformation in the 18th century. The Argan of Savam withdrew from the Sorority in 1759 following the Infame Raid that saw the fall of Etamps to radical Reformers, the arrest of the Orthodoxist Holy Mother, and her replacement by a Reformer archmatron.

With other argans later joining the Reformer cause – and the division seemingly being set in stone by the Blessed Conciliation of 1771 – the Sorority has existed in a dual state for the past three centuries. From 1759 to 1893, the Orthodoxist Sorority was unable to access Etamps, then under Savamese control, and usually met at the Temple of Agria in Cairn (Odann), or at the Sanctuary of Saint Viola in Barchester (Elland). Following Savam's defeat in the Embute War, Etamps was placed again under Orthodoxist control; however, the Kingdom of Brex-Sarre gradually distanced itself from the Orthodox community so that, in 1924, its argan became officially Reform.

The King of Brex-Sarre tries to maintain a degree of religious neutrality and allows all sects to use the Holy City. However, because of perceived Reformer hostility, the Orthodoxist Sorority has convened mainly in Barchester since 1924. The reformer Sorority always met in Etamps, at the Aula Rotundae Temple, except for a brief period between 1894 and 1907, where it met in Taurive (Savam).