Church of Martel

"Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of mana. A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero’s life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens. The goddess left the angels with this edict: "You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed." The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world."

The Church of Martel is the main religion in both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla.

Tales of Symphonia
The Goddess Martel is the chief deity worshiped by the inhabitants of the worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, along with the angels of Cruxis. Although there are frequent references to other gods in the course of the game through dialogue, equitable items and weapons, Martel is the focus of worship in the Church of Martel. The Church, which was established by Mithos Yggdrasill, is nearly identical in both the worlds of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, save for the hierarchical system present in Tethe'alla (which has a Pope as its spiritual leader). It can be assumed that while Mithos was introducing the new religion of the Church of Martel, people combined some of their own "pagan" beliefs with the Church's.

According to the legends the Church of Martel introduces, it is widely believed that the goddess is in a state of deep sleep within the seed of the ancient Giant Kharlan Tree and that the process of World Regeneration is intended to awaken the goddess and revitalize the world from its declining state.

Speculation on similarities to real-world religion

 * The Church of Martel is generally believed to be a monotheistic religion, with aspects derived from the real-life Roman Catholic Church. For example, Pope, purgatory and hell are mentioned in the game, the architecture of the churches is similar, et cetera.
 * There seems to be a sort of priesthood, with women being able to become priestesses, and there is no set worship date like the Sabbath; rather, the priests appear to cater to the spiritual needs of the people at any time.
 * Kratos explains that the angelic language is the basis for the language of the world, which points evidence to some sort of vernacular and/or church language (or an ancient root language, playing a role similar to that the real world's Latin).
 * In Tethe'alla, there seems to be a festival of some sort in which the residents of Meltokio, the capital city, dress up as angels and parade in the streets (similar to the Jewish festival of Purim). However, this is not elaborated on.
 * There is evidence of sacraments, as confession is encouraged at the Cathedral in Flanoir.
 * Both Meltokio of Tethe’alla and Palmacosta of Sylvarant have evidence from when piece occurred in the Holy Ground of Kharlan.
 * Relics of Spiritua (the first and most famous Chosen in Sylvarant) also held in great esteem, and statues of her are displayed in many churches and Houses of Salvation in Sylvarant.
 * One of the most widely known verses of the scriptures of Martel includes a calling to travel, because life is a journey, and the followers of Martel must therefore journey as well. These journeys are known as pilgrimages, and must be made at least once in one's lifetime (similar to the Hajj in Islam}. There is no set pilgrimage site, but locations of seals such as the Thoda Geyser, and previously the Tower of Mana are popular tourist sites.

The truth
The Church of Martel was established by Mithos Yggdrasil, the hero in the scriptures, so that it could unknowingly support him in finding the perfect host for his late sister, who the Church is named after, by establishing the Rituals of World Regeneration in order to maintain the fragile state of the world. He would later use the Journey of World Regeneration to try to create a vessel for his sister's consciousness to inhabit, believing that this would bring his sister back to life. The only way to create the perfect vessel, Mithos knew, would be to find a person with an identical mana signature to that of Martel. To this end, he began controlling the marriages of the citizens of both worlds through the Church in an attempt to create the signature that most resembled hers.

Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
It seems like the Church of Martel has changed a great deal through the two years. Tethe’alla’s Church of Martel, with their superior technology, is the dominant part of the religion, and thus Sylvarant’s Church of Martel does almost everything they say. They are fighting the Vanguard, which was created to help people the Church did not want to help.

Because of the now violent religion, more and more people have gone against them and do no longer believe in Martel. Because of this, Zelos says in a skit that even though there does not exist any Goddesses, the Church of Martel may soon fall down, so there are no needs to worry about believing in a Goddess that no longer exists.

Trivia

 * Mentions of local gods in the town of Mizuho are made, so it is likely that in retaining their cultural traditions, the people of Mizuho mostly rejected the outside influence of the Church of Martel.

Relative pages

 * Chosen
 * Cruxis
 * Journey of Regeneration
 * Pope of Tethe'alla