The Church of Tah (aka The Bethite Church)

The Church of Tah is a monotheistic church, which came to the Western Lands along with the Urdish colonists. When the Empire of Urd fell and Thalus Dane declared himself Emperor, High Priest Zamos in the city of Beth declared himself the new Patriarch. After a period of unrest and chaos, Zamos was able to solidify his control. The so-called Bethite Church claims to follow a set of orderly and generally virtuous beliefs... but it is obvious to any outside observer that this is just not so. Many Bethite Priests take bribes in return for granting special blessings and dispensations, and despite vows of celibacy are well known for their orgies and other, darker pursuits. These priests are also well known for the large quantities of gold, silver, and precious stones they adorn themselves and their temples with. Of course, not all Bethite priests are bad; possibly less than one in ten are so corrupted. But those who are tend to be among the hierarchy. Every Bethite priest must have his holy symbol, or a blessed object bearing the symbol as a mark, in order to call on the power of his god Tah. Such items are virtually always made of gold, or at least plated with it. The Bethite holy symbol is a circle, bisected by a vertical bar that extends below the circle to form a stem or handle. The Bethite church never accepts women as priests.