Bazian Church

The Bazian Church is an extramuros religious institution referenced during a period of open contact between the maths and the outside world. It is encountered through places of worship (cathedrals and basilicas), audible bells, and clergy titles that include prelates and arch‑prelates.

First Appearance and Context

During Apert, observers note the bells of a Bazian cathedral in a town outside the walls, and one avout mentions a parent who serves as the local Bazian arch‑prelate. Elsewhere in the same outing, a new worship space is described as a "counter‑Bazian ark," indicating that other groups define themselves in relation to Bazian. A Tenner later reports reaching a basilica unmolested but being told by his father that he must repent and be consecrated into the orthodox Bazian faith.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Functions as a prominent extramuros church with cathedrals and basilicas.
• Clergy ranks explicitly include prelates and arch‑prelates, evidenced by a local arch‑prelate referenced by Fraa Arsibalt.
• Consecration into an "orthodox Bazian faith" is referenced; a parent demands repentance and consecration before speaking to his son.
• Historically depicted in Hylaean Way galleries as the Ark of Baz: priests and prelates of the Ark of Baz are shown advising generals and emperors, with theors relegated to the background as Baz’s power matured.
• No doctrines or liturgical details are provided in the current account. The term Bazian appears as a doctrinal label in circulation outside the walls, and other arks may present themselves as counter to it.

Relationships

• Saeculum and authority: The church operates in the world outside the maths under the wider structures of the Saecular Power.
• Mathic world: Contact is indirect and occurs during regulated openings; the avout narrator’s awareness comes from observing buildings, bells, and remarks about local clergy.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Architecture: Bazian architecture is described as a cousin to Mathic—broader and more rounded in form where Mathic buildings tend to be narrow and pointy.
• Worship spaces: Cathedrals and basilicas are named; cathedral bells are audible across nearby streets.
• Terminology: The label "Bazian" is used adjectivally (e.g., “Bazian cathedral”), and “counter‑Bazian” is attested for an opposing ark.

Current Status/Location

Active and visible in towns outside the walls during the present period of open contact. A Bazian cathedral stands across from a burger household, and a basilica is associated with a local arch‑prelate.