Fatherly Precepts

The term Fatherly Precepts has two meanings: first of all, it is the word used by Filians and elves to describe the scripture of the elven people, which forms the first part of Filian scripture. Within this body of scripture, the term specifically refers to the Twelve Fatherly Precepts, one for each major constellation, that God Himself gave to the elves when they were exiled to the Material Realm according to these scriptures and that form the foundation of elvish religious law.

Text

 * 1) The Lord: I am your Heavenly Father and you are all my children.
 * 2) The Twins: You shall honour the place of your brothers and sisters.
 * 3) The Sword: You shall not kill my children.
 * 4) The Lady: You shall honour your elders as you honour me your father.
 * 5) The Book: You shall keep the laws that govern you.
 * 6) The Crown: You shall worship only me.
 * 7) The Tree: you shall keep my creation as it is given to you.
 * 8) The Lovers: you shall honour your spouse and be faithful
 * 9) The Oath: you shall honour any oath in my name
 * 10) TBD
 * 11) The Dragon: you shall resist all evil and neither speak nor think nor do it
 * 12) The Reaper: you shall accept only the time given to you.

In Elvish scripture
The Fatherly Precepts present a turning point in the history of the children of God. Before the precepts, they wandered in tribes, easily picked off by the inhabitants of the Material Realm because of their creativity and impulses, which led to their adoption of various idols as gods. These could not protect them from death and sometimes enslavement at the hands of a people known as the conquerors. Taking pity on his creatures, the Heavenly Father then struck down the conquerors, and by miracles led the Elves deep into the woods. Here they turned yet again to the worship of mortal idols. God was angered but saw that this was the consequence of the ever-creating nature of his people in combination with the existence of death, and had mercy. To bring order to their chaotic nature, which in the context of the Material Realm led to much suffering, He sent the prophet Valeryn to the elves with twelve sacred laws, and placed twelve constellations in the sky to remind the elves of their bond to them. These Fatherly Precepts formed the basis of their religious law.

In the Chant of the Children
Filius preached that the Fatherly Precepts were not only given to the Elves, but to the children of God as a whole, elves and non-elves and all inhabitants of the Material Realm (even the former slavers of the Children). When asked by an elvish priest which of the Precepts was the cornerstone of all the law, Filius replied: "As the prophet pointed up at the stars, so verily, I tell thee - look to the Heavens. For is it not written: I, your Heavenly Father, have written the laws upon the heavens in light, keep you this light in your hearts and minds forever?" He then pointed at the sun, saying: "The first precept is to love God, the eternal Ever-creating light; and the second reflects this, as truly as the moon reflects the sun's rays: love all His children as you would yourself. This is the whole truth that God has written in the Heavens."

Elven theology
The Elves considered the Fatherly Precepts the literal commandments of their God, and interpreted them as given only to them, taking a literal understanding as Valeryn was sent only to them with the knowledge of the laws. In Elven theology, the fact that the Elves kept the Precepts entitled them to consider themselves the first and most beloved of God's creations, in line with their belief that the children of God cast out of the Immortal Realms were their ancestors and theirs alone. The religious law of the elves is based on the Twelve Fatherly Precepts, and derived from them, and ordered their society (with reference to the second precept) in a strict almost caste-like system.

Because of the teaching that the Precepts were written in twelve constellations, the ancient symbol of the Elvish faith is one star or twelve stars, arrayed in a perfect circle.

Filian theology
The Filian faith teaches that the elves misunderstood the true meaning of the Fatherly Precepts, but that they remain in force. The chief misinterpretation Filian theologians ascribe to the elves is whom the precepts were given to: while the Elves believed that they alone were the Children of God, Filius taught that all the races were Children of God, and that the Elves were given the precepts as representatives of all the children. "You shall honour the place of your brothers and sisters" is interpreted differently by the Filians: while the elves interpreted it as a basis for the strict ordering of society, Filians believe that the Heavenly Father in fact commanded the elves to honour the place of their brother and sister races as equal children of God, implying that the precepts were for all of them. In addition, with reference to the story of Filius's explanation of the Precepts to the elvish priest, they believe that the teaching of sun and moon is a summary of the Precepts and the principle at their heart.

The teaching of sun and moon has a prominent place in Filian symbolism. Many churches have a sun and a moon prominently displayed near the pulpit from which the Chant is read. The symbol of the Filian Church as a whole combines a sword (the weapon that slew Filius) with a sun.