Priests have the advantage of automatic church sanction and support. They have a defined and valued role in society. However, sometimes there are individuals or groups who seek another form of religious expression or find themselves called to a particular task. When a group of followers join together for a special purpose in the name of religion, they form either a monastic order or a heretic cult. The difference between the two is the blessing of the Matr. There are generally two approaches to achieve this blessing:

First, an individual or group can petition the Matr with a plan to form a monastic order. If their doctrine is sound and they can demonstrate a particular need or use for the order and what advantage its existence will provide for the church, the Matr may give approval for the order to begin recruiting members. This is perhaps the less common path, since it is difficult to gain the attention of the Matr and the usefulness and viability of the order may be difficult to demonstrate before it has been formed. When this option is taken, it is usually put in motion by a high ranking or well-respected priest as a boon from the Matr, or occasionally a group of priests who have joined together in a common vision. In both cases, however, it may be an extremely dangerous venture, for it subjects the priests to rigorous testing of their faith and doctrine and they could just as well find themselves declared heretics. Nor does the Matr look well on those who disrupt the priestly order by spreading discontent, as the latter case might suggest. There is also the danger of forming an approved order and finding, on review, that it does not meet expectations--perhaps no one wants to join the order, or the rules and duties simply aren't practical. In this case, the order might fall apart as an nonviable organization. Alternately, in twisting its plan to suit the needs of the group, it may suffer the disapproval of the Matr and find itself declared heresy anyway.

The second possibility is to simply form the group and gain enough in size or deeds to warrant notice by the church authorities. Local priests may try to squelch small upstart groups by reporting them before they have built up enough of a movement to justify a monastic designation. Thus, most successful monastic orders of this type begin in secret until their size or deeds draw the attention of the Matr. Once this is done, the Matr would send agents to investigate the group and determine whether their actions are worthy and their doctrine is sound. As with priests, it is important that even the least member of a monastic order be strong with the true doctrine, so most successful monastic orders are those begun by scholars or former priests.

If these inspections do not uncover obvious heresy, its leader will be brought to the Great Cathedral to come before the Matr and then defend the works and purpose of the order. The leader must show how true doctrine guides and supports every aspect of the monastic rule. Finally, the Matr will make her ruling. If it is deemed a monastic order, the leader will be blessed and set back to work. If it is a heretical cult, the leader may be executed and the followers hunted down to recant or suffer trial.

Recruiting procedures vary from order to order, but most approved orders will welcome anyone with an earnest desire and a temperament in tune with the order's purpose. Established orders are discouraged from recruiting from the priesthood, since the church does not like to lose those who serve it well. However, if an individual priest expresses the desire to join a monastic order, he may suffer no more than the earnest discouragement of his superior, to be ultimately sent on his new path with a blessing. Sometimes an acolyte who has trouble adjusting to the priesthood may even be encouraged to explore the alternative of a monastic order more suited to his temperament to fulfill his religious calling.

Monastic orders recognized by the Church include:

• Order of the Divine Reverence (Dargotten)
• Order of the Lost Path (Dargotten)
• Order of Bewresha's Daughters (Bewresha)
• Order of Creative Wonder (Faeterna)
• Order of the Grey Friars (Grytl)

*You may have heard rumors of the Order of the Hidden Way, but no priest will acknowledge it, and information is hard to come by.