Birth, Life and Death

This is a high level overview of the life of a practitioner.

The daily life is described in rites and diet.

Birth

Birth is not a particularly special event in canon: the Covenant of Abraham is rejected, official membership is not granted until a sort of rumspringa is performed, and formal baptism does not occur until an advanced stage of spiritual development is attained.

Baptism by Water

A symbolic celebration, marking a rebirth. The official time for baptism is upon the attainment of Eternal Life, and again at the attainment of Level 4 Ascension, but mini-baptisms may be performed at each level of initiation, and at a few points during the Neophyte Studies, as well as at any other time.

Full submersion for a good while really makes it count.

Holy Communion

After attaining Eternal Life and celebrating the official baptism, it is possible to commune with Celestial beings, as well as performing the rite of Holy Communion.

Ascension

Daily rituals as well as regular congregations help to attain Eternal Life, and begin the process of Ascension to Salvation.

Few people reach this level of attainment, and the ones who do are often not long for this world, so as to avoid relapsing into a lower level of Ascension: perhaps this baptism should be by fire.

Death

In the moments preceding the time of death, a practitioner who has attained Eternal Life performs the Ultimate Rite.

If any death rites are performed, they involve open air cremation, as with burial at sea or the Hindu style, accompanied by the customary skull-bashing. Ashes are generally distributed into a river or ocean, calcinating the remains.

The lack of death rites is not an undesirable fate, as with taking a final solitary pilgrimage to the Garden of Eden.

Efforts at preserving the body after death are considered heretical. Personal belongings may also be burned at this time.