What strikes both the informed student and casual observer alike about Bretonnian religion is their peculiar penchant for the worship of human servants of the divine deities.
"Beholden to the Image of Deified Men: A Sincere and Scholarly Account Rendering the Peculiarities and Curiosities of Bretonnian religion."
-By Professor Ehrlich, University of Nuln

Religion in Bretonnia is in many ways different from the worship of the gods in the Empire, but the primary difference is the Bretonnian focus on Sainthood. There is considerable dispute as to what exactly constitutes what a saint truly is, but it is typically defined as an individual who led an exemplary life in the service of a deity or embodied the virtues of the faith, and has after their death been revered for their piety and are believed to act on behalf of those requesting their patronage. In this way a Saint is seen as an intermediary between the worshipper and the deity, who acts as a patron to the worshippers. Despite the claims of Imperial scholars to the contrary, the Saints are themselves not revered as gods, but rather the channels by which the gods and their worshippers interact. The Saint, in their role of neither human nor god are able to empathize with both deity and devotee and attend to the needs of the devoted. For Bretonnians, the role of the Saint makes their religion very human and close. The nature of Sainthood ensures that the Bretonnian knows how close the divine truly is to them.

Shrines of Saints

The cults of Saints are a wildly popular and public means of worship. Nearly every temple of any faith in Bretonnia has the relics of a past Saint enshrined in their altar and in other locations in the temple. So prominent is the temple's saint that most temples are not referred to by the name of the deity that they are dedicated to, but rather to the Saint that has been enshrined within the altar. The temple usually has a shrine dedicated to the Saint while in some places the entire temple is a shrine dedicated to that saint alone. In both cases the shrine or temple will have murals, stained glass windows, and other art depicting the life, tribulations, triumphs, and miracles of the patron saint. Saintly motifs decorate the entire shrine and the center of the shrine is the reliquary, a coffin, box, or sarcophagus that is elaborately decorated to the highest of standards. This reliquary houses some physical object or objects that were the saints in life, usually containing all or part of the reliquiae, the body of the saint. If it does not house the body it houses some other significant physical
object that is believed to be imbued with the power of the saint.

A large temple may house a number of significant saints who each have their shrine, and in this case the altar of the church holds the most important of all the saints, and it is this saint that the temple will be named after. It should be noted that not all temples have saintly reliquaries as their altars, but most do. Smaller temples will usually have one saint of whom they take great pride and is often the center of worship for the entire community.

Nearly all monasteries in Bretonnia have at the heart of their monastery a shrine to the founder of their monastery, and it is these saints that are amongst the most cherished of all. Some monasteries were founded by visionaries who, after their death, were then revered and interred as saints, other monasteries however were dedicated and built to an individual that had already died and been recognized as a saint. These monasteries are built near some place that had significance in the saints life, where they worked a miracle, where they were born, where they had a religious epiphany, or where they died. Such monasteries are dedicated specifically to the doctrine that the saint proclaimed.

It should be noted that not all shrines are temples and monasteries, although over the years most important places have had a temple built near them. Some places are recognized as shrines even though no formal temple exists there. A well where a respected saint paused to cleanse the poisonous water may very well be a shrine, an informal place where pilgrims and other travel to as an expression of their devotion and as a means of rededicating their lives.

The Worship of Saints

The traditional means of showing devotion to a saint and consequently to the deity the saint serves is through worship at a temple or shrine on a particular day of the week. This particular day always falls on the same day of the week but is carefully calculated to not interfere with other religions or saint days of neighboring churches. In areas of long standing religigious animosity though, it quite common for saint days to clash dividing worshippers not only between religions, but sometimes within a religion if there are two shrines to saints of the same god in conflict over doctrinal matters. Regionally the days of the week are often named after local saints, with each day bearing the name of a different saint, although this is more common in small towns rather than the larger cities.

The ceremonies on such days are fairly typical and usually entail a sermon of religious doctrine, prayers, and songs with the choir. On such normal occasions a few small artifacts may be flourished by the priests or paraded through an aisle of the church. After the ceremony the worshippers may approach the altar, shrine, or other areas within the church invested with religious significance, bearing a candle and petition the saint to intervene on their behalf with the deity. The petitioner then leaves a small monetary offering behind to aid in the maintenance of the shrine.

It should be noted that few Bretonnians worship one saint, but rather look to a number of them to fulfill the various spiritual needs the individual has. However it is not uncommon for people to relate closely to one particular saint above all others, and this is not seen as amiss, and such a saint is referred to as a patron saint. Each house usually has a small shrine dedicated to the patron saint of the house whom they appease with daily prayers and more elaborate weekly rituals.

The central event of a saintly cult however is the feast day of the saint, or feast days since some of the more popular or pretentious saints have more than one day commemorating them. The feast day is always a date marking an important event in the saint's life, the date of their birth, a day marking a grave tribulation or triumph, spiritual ascendance, public recognition, return from a spiritual journey or pilgrimage, canonization, or death (particularly if martyred). These saint days are in most cases festive occasions in which the entire community takes part, including many related shrines and even other temples if relations are particularly close. The day begins with the tolling of bells from the temple and possibly other temples if they are participating as well. A crowd usually gathers at the site of the shrine where a service is performed. The clergy wear their formal vesture and bear the regalia of the cult and provide a stirring oratory. Then the reliquary is usually lifted aloft and heads a procession to the center of the town or city in an event known as the saintly procession, and this entourage walks along a given path usually packed with spectators, and when they arrive at the heart of the town or city, the clergy renew the saintly covenant, a claim that the saint will
continue to protect and nurture the people due to their dedication.

The allure of the event is that the cults patrons, usually the wealthy and rich, have donated considerable funds for the feast day, which takes place shortly after the saintly covenant is read. Those who have donated money to the saints feast day are mentioned in the covenant by name, those providing the largest donation first. Then food is distributed to those participating in the procession and considerable feasting and merriment begins. Venders distribute food as well for those who have the money, others bring their own food to share in the spirit of this charitable event, while others must eat the bread distributed on behalf of the donors.

After a few hours, the ceremony ends and the procession returns to the temple or shrine to the tolling of bells, and the donors and their invitees are allowed to attend the return of the rq to its place at the altar. For those outside the feasting may continue all night since the day is a holiday and there are numerous diversions on hand, usually street performers and other entertainers taking advantage of the occasion. Many theatre groups appear as well performing moments of the saint's life or commemorating other notable events in local or Bretonnian history.

There is one other dimension to the worship of deities through saints, and that is the pilgrimage, which plays an important aspect in saintly cults. The pilgrimage usually entails following the path that a saint took during important events during their life, although some of the more devout pilgrims will follow all the travels of a saint. The intention is that by following the path of the saint that one comes not only closer to replicating in their own lives the spiritual growth of the saint, but to also understand the saint by the experiences they had. The roads of Bretonnia see thousands of pilgrims traveling every year to shrines both near and far, and this pilgrimage plays an important part in the local economy as pilgrims spend their money on the pilgrimage or perform services or sell goods to afford their travels.

Benefiting from pilgrimage as well are the shrines themselves, who can expect gracious offerings from those who have traveled far as further signs of their devotions. Many temples and shrines, the exception being those dedicated to Shallya, see pilgrims as an opportunity to further spread their doctrine, good faith, influence, and profit as well, and provide relics to pilgrims in exchange for their donations. Often resourceful or unscrupulous individuals sell similar items for slightly cheaper prices outside of the temples and shrines.