Temples of Yevon

Yevon
Religion has remained a part of life for many of the peoples of Spira, with a large majority of the population describing themselves as "Yevonites". Though no longer in existence by the end of Final Fantasy X, the teachings of Yevon were millennium-old and heavily influential. The Yevonite clergy taught that Sin was a divine punishment set upon the people for their pride in the use of machines (known as "machina"). As a result, the temples forbade the use of modern technology, and promoted a culture of atonement for past sins in the hopes of appeasing Sin.[26] The only other method of defeating Sin deemed acceptable by the temples was the use of the Final Aeon.

By the end of Final Fantasy X, the Yevon religion was effectively disbanded once evidence of its corruption was discovered and its remaining priests volunteered the truth.[27] Half a year later, the moral teachings of Yevon were revitalized in the form of the New Yevon Party, later led in Final Fantasy X-2 by Praetor Baralai. Although technically a splinter group of Yevon, the New Yevon party was not a religion, but a simple philosophy, their motto and position on Spira's advancement being "One thing at a time".

[edit] Hierarchy of the temples

At the top of Yevon’s hierarchy is the grand maester (総老師, sōrōshi?, lit. "complete sage") an office similar to that of a Pope. As of the events of Final Fantasy X, Grand Maester Yo Mika had held the position for fifty years.

Below the grand maester are three positions simply referred to by the title "maester" (老師, rōshi?, lit. "sage") a station similar to that of a Cardinal. The maesters have many duties within the Yevon order including making laws, presiding over Yevon’s High Court, and overseeing Yevon's civil, military, and spiritual affairs. A representative of each of Spira's three main races serves as a maester: Maester Wen Kinoc represents the regular humans; Maester Seymour Guado represents the Guado; and Maester Kelk Ronso represents the Ronso tribe.

The next step down are the priests of Yevon. Their job is to attend to the temples throughout the land. Each temple has a high priest who presides over the temple and its staff, much like an abbot or head monk. Maester Seymour himself is the high priest of Macalania Temple. Many priests are summoners or former summoners, and tend to wear multicolored vestments of white, green and orange. Additionally, with the exception of Maester Seymour, male priests bear shaven heads while female priests retain their hair.

Below the priests are the summoners (召喚士, shōkanshi?), a position that is something of a cross between a saint and a miko. Summoners are charged with the greatest responsibility of all: to journey to Zanarkand, obtain the Final Aeon and destroy Sin. Summoners also perform the sending, the ritual that guides the souls of the dead to peace on the Farplane. The title of "high summoner" (大召喚士, daishōkanshi?) which was always given posthumously until High Summoner Yuna brought the Eternal Calm, refers to summoners who have defeated Sin.

Lastly, Yevon has a number of acolytes, similar to deacons or nuns. They work throughout Spira performing various duties for the temples.

[edit] Militant factions

Warrior monks serve as protectors to the maesters and the temples, stationed primarily in the city of Bevelle. Maester Wen Kinoc was once a warrior monk, as was the "legendary guardian" Auron. When the Eternal Calm became, The Chocobo Knights disbanded and joined the Youth League.

The Crusaders (formerly known as the "Crimson Blades") were a loosely-knit army that existed to protect towns and temples from Sin. The group was founded by Lord Mi'ihen, who made a journey to Bevelle 800 years ago to calm the maesters' fears that he was assembling an army to conquer them. Mi'ihen managed to win their trust, and the Crimson Blades were thereafter inducted into the Yevon clergy as the Crusaders. The road Mi'ihen had walked was renamed the "Mi'ihen Highroad" in his honor. Unlike guardians, Crusaders are directly related to the temples. No non-Yevonite is permitted to serve as a Crusader, although there are unofficial chapters comprised entirely of people who have been excommunicated. All of the Crusaders were excommunicated, however, when they set up Operation Mi'ihen, a joint Crusader-Al Bhed attempt to destroy Sin. The operation failed and most of the Crusaders were decimated in the process. Those that survived either joined the Youth League or the Leblanc Syndacate.

The Crimson Squad was formed around the time of Operation Mi'ihen. The temples of Yevon intended to create a group that would be an elite unit to replace the recently excommunicated Crusaders, and conducted a training and selection process for the Crimson Squad, of which the best candidates would be assigned leadership of Crusader chapters across Spira. However, only three candidates survived the final exercise, all of whom were targeted for execution thereafter due to what they had learned of Vegnagun, a giant machina relic of Bevelle's hidden past with power enough to destroy the whole of Spira if used improperly. With the three candidates in hiding and the rest dead, the group was never put into action. Unlike the Crusaders, non-Yevonites (such as Gippal) were allowed to train with the Crimson Squad.

Guardians are similar to bodyguards, and are the protectors of summoners, though not directly related to the temples. A summoner chooses any number of guardians to be accompanied by, even if they are not non-Yevonites if they wish, though doing so is not only rare, but also looked down upon by some. The unofficial title of "legendary guardian" was used in reference to Auron and Jecht, both guardians to High Summoner Braska and Auron who was also a guardian to his daughter, High Summoner Yuna.

[edit] Practices

The gesture of prayer to Yevon is a gesticulation that begins with one holding their hands out to either side, then bringing them in front of their chest, as though holding a sphere, and bowing. This is the traditional greeting of Yevonites one to another, especially among the clergy. The gesture evolved from the blitzball sign for victory.

Additionally, summoners are obligated to perform a sending for the deceased, preventing the pyreflies of the dead from manifesting as fiends.

Aside from these two practices, the most well known practice is that of singing the "Hymn of the Fayth (祈りの歌, Inori no Uta?, lit. 'song of prayer')"[sample] (help·info). During the entire millennium before the Eternal Calm, the fayth residing in the inner sanctum of each temple could be heard singing the Hymn of the Fayth. It is initially described as a gift from Yevon himself, given to soothe the hearts of the faithful and the souls of the dead. However, it is later revealed that it was in fact a song sung by the people of Zanarkand in defiance of Bevelle. After the creation of Sin, those groups of people who still stood in open defiance of Bevelle and the newly formed temples of Yevon continued to sing the song in protest. After initially placing a ban on the hymn, the temples decided — in an attempt to bury the fact that Yevon had been an enemy of Bevelle — to claim the song as their own, and it eventually became a part of Yevon's official dogma.

Though the Hymn's words apparently have no discernable meaning within the context of Spira, their lyricist and scenario writer, Kazushige Nojima, composed a small puzzle with the lyrics, using Japanese syllables. Their co-composer, Nobuo Uematsu, also composed the music while co-composer, Masashi Hamauzu, arranged the music as well. When properly deciphered, they form sentences that translates thus:

''Pray to Yu Yevon. Dream, fayth. Forever and ever, grant us prosperity.''