Elene Church

The Elene Church is a fictional church, the official church of the continent of Eosia (excluding Zemoch) in David Eddings' series The Elenium and The Tamuli. The Elene Church is based heavily upon the Roman Catholic Church in real life.

Structure

The Elene Church is based at Chyrellos, a city-state under the control of the Church and ruled by the Archprelate, much like the Vatican in the Catholic Church. The Basilica of Chyrellos is the chief cathedral for the Elene Church, much like St. Peter's Basilica.

The head of the Elene Church is the Archprelate, who is equivalent to the Pope in the Roman Catholic Church. The Archprelate is elected by a congress of Patriarchs, who are analogus to cardinals in the Catholic Church. (In real Christendom, a Patriarch is the head of one of the Orthodox churches). A Patriarch is usually in charge of the religious administration of a city; e.g. Dolmant is the Patriarch of Demos, Bergsten is the Patriarch of Emsat). So a Patriarch also seems to undertake the duties of local diocesan Catholic bishops or archbishops; in fact, the archbishops of several cities are usually made cardinals). The four preceptors of the Militant Orders (the Church Knights) also hold the rank of Patriarch. Each Patriarch (minus the Preceptors) seems to have a squad of Church soldiers at their command to ensure their protection.