Student of Theology: Seminary and Minor Orders in Flashing Blades

Characters who wish to join the Clergy must have Theology and Latin skills, and must start as Students of Theology. Gentlemen with the necessary skills may choose to start the game as Students of Theology, in whichever school of theological thought the wish. All others may roll 2D6 at the beginning of each year after the start of the game, in an attempt to roll the entrance number of a school, to become a Student of Theology. As characters may not roll to enter a school at the start of the game, all characters who are not of Gentleman background must wait a year to enter a school of Theology.

To study Theology in the 17th Century, one commonly went to a school or college run by one of the powerful monastic orders of the times. Each order has its own requirements for years of study needed to be ordained, and the amount of time each year which must be spent studying Theology. . . . At the end of a character's study as a Student of Theology, he is ordained into the Priesthood. - 5.42 Joining the Clergy, Flashing Blades core rules (page 30)

A Student of Theology in Flashing Blades undertakes a three or four year period of study in order to become a Catholic priest, so what exactly happens during that time?

The last half of the sixteenth and first half of the seventeenth centuries, known today as the Counter-Reformation, was a time of renewal and retrenchment for the Roman Catholic Church in response to the rise and spread of Protestantism. One of the principle events of that period was the Council of Trent, conducted in two dozen sessions between 1545 and 1563 under the auspices of three different popes; the Council attempted to address what the Church perceived as spiritual laxity and temporal abuse by the clergy. Among the recommendations - known as the Tridentine reforms - was to improve the education and training of priests, and this led to the founding of seminaries, what the game calls a "school of theological thought."

The Student of Theology in Flashing Blades then is a seminarian. Seminarians, during their periods of study, live in a community, similar to monks. They are expected to be devout, dilligent, sober, and chaste. They wear eccesiastical garb and attend services several times a day, with periods of study in between.

Seminarians also take minor orders. The minor orders are offices within a parish church or abbey responsible for assisting the priests in running the church and performing Mass. The minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte.

The Porter is responsible for locking and unlocking the doors of the church and ringing the bell. Porters also act like doormen or guards, keeping the congregation safe during services - in the era of the Wars of Religion, this is no small thing.

The Lector reads non-Gospel biblical passages during services; Gospel readings are limited to the major orders.

The Exorcist of minor orders is not Father Merrin from the eponymous movie; exorcism of demons is left to ordained priests. The exorcist's main responsibilities are assisting with baptisms, performing "minor exorcisms" - mostly annointing with oil and praying over the infant - in preparation for consecration.

The Acolyte is the highest ranked minor order, lighting candles and carrying them in ceremonies and processions, administering bread and wine to the priest during Mass, and otherwise assiting the priest.

Before the rise of seminaries as part of the Tridentine reforms, "porter-lector-exorcist-acolyte" was a pathway to the priesthood, and seminarians are still ordained in the minor orders. As part of their training, Students of Theology will serve in a parish church; principally this will be as a lector, reading Holy Scripture - literacy in Latin, remember - during Mass and, particularly in the last year of their studies, as an acolyte and more rarely as a porter or exorcist. Much like the Student of Law's stage and clerkship, this gives the seminarian practical experience in the service of a parish church, working alongside priests and a pastor and interacting with congregants - and for the referee, another pathway for enmeshing the player character seminarian in the life of the setting through rumors and patronage.

An interesting thing about ordination in the minor orders: it's open to the laity. This does in fact open another pathway to the priesthood for characters who don't want to be seminarians, but it's also an opportunity to involve a character in the life of a parish church without the responsiblities and strictures of ordination as a priest. As a quick and dirty house rule, say roll 8+ to become a porter with promotion to lector - literacy in Latin required - on 8+; promotion from lector to exorcist requires a 9+, and promotion to acolyte - Theology skill required - from exorcist requires 10+, all on 2D6, of course. Service is four months a year for each minor order. Promotion attempts are rolled once a year as per the core rules, so the time to ascend through the minor orders is variable and probably pretty lengthy, but that fact that one can rise to acolyte while keeping a wife and family and pursuing another career might be appealing.

So how about Aramis? We know Aramis becomes a priest as well as superior general of the Jesuits, an ambassador, and a duke over the course of the novels, but what about Aramis the King's Musketeer of the first book? Well, we know that Athos and Porthos intervened "at the moment of my ordination," as Aramis describes it, so it would appear he is a lapsed seminarian who plans to return to the Church at a later date, which means he's probably ordained in the minor orders already.

Now, a reminder: Flashing Blades is a game of swashbuckling adventure, and priests historically fought duels and carried on affairs and participated in politics, so none of this should imply a life of mundane service for player character clerics. Through active participation in a parish church, a seminarian will become close to priests, curates, and pastors, and quite possibly members of the bishop's curia, and will get to know parishioners as well; awareness of the politics of both the Church and the local community should follow. A better understanding of the Student of Theology experience should open doors to adventure, not close them.