Catholic Church

From Srafopedia

Catholicism, in Our World, is the oldest surviving branch of Christianity. Catholics believe that salvation is accomplished through both faith and good works, through the intercession of priests who administer the sacraments and give absolution. The Catholic Church venerates saints, and has a special regard for the Virgin Mary.

The "Roman" Catholic Church, unlike the "Eastern" Catholic or Orthodox Church from which it split in the 11th century, is governed hierarchically, by Bishops and Cardinals, and is presided over by the Pope, based in the Vatican. The Church also includes orders of monks and nuns, like the one Mary Malone belonged to.

The Church of Lyra's World, the Magisterium, is more similar to the Roman Catholic Church than to any other religion in Our World, but it is an alternate version in which there is no pope, the Church is ruled by competing bureaucracies and councils, and the Church is a far more dominant and restrictive force in everyday life and in politics than in our world.