Wealthy and popular, the church of Lathander has opulent temples
throughout the North, some of which push back the borders of good taste, as
well as less audacious and more serviceable structures in most towns and
cities and dotting all of Faerûn. The main room of a temple faces east and is
open to the horizon, at least in part, so that the faithful can see the dawn.
The high priest or priestess of a shrine or temple is often called a prior or an
abbess, although titles vary throughout the church.

Specialty priests of Lathander call themselves morninglords. Clerics of
Lathander call both themselves and their specialty priest and crusader
brethren dawn priests, ignoring any difference. About 35% of the organized
priesthood are specialty priests; the remainder are clerics or crusaders. A
larger number of the adventuring priests who serve the Morninglord are specialty priests

The Lathanderian religion has no overarching hierarchy from church to
church and no central authority. When issues of doctrine or policy come up
that must he decided upon, a conference is called at the church who initially
presented the problem for consideration, and the issue is resolved. Regardless of rank or experience level, each Lathanderite priest is considered the
master of the temple, shrine, or parish she or he is responsible for no matter
the number of priests staffing the facility under him or her.

Novices in the Lathanderian faith are called the Awakened, and they
gain the title of Dawnbringer upon becoming full priests. In ascending order
of rank, the titles in general use by the Dawnbringers are: Dawngreeter,
Dawnlord (the church doe:, not use feminine form of titles often), High
Dawnlord, Dawnmaster, Morninglord, High Morninglord, Mornmaster,
High Mornmaster, and Sunrise Lord.

Dogma:   The charge given to most novice postulants to the faith of Lathander is: “Strive always to aid, to foster new hope, new ideas, and new prosperity for all humankind and its allies. Perfect thyself, and guard ever against
pride, for it is a sacred duty to foster new growth, nurture growing things,
and work for rebirth and renewal. Be fertile in mind and body. Consider always the consequences of thine actions so that the least effort may bring the
greatest and best reward. Wherever you go, sow seeds of plants, tend the
growing things you find, and plant seeds of hope, new ideas, and plans for a
rosy future in the minds of all. Whenever possible, see each dawn.”

Lathander’s dogma is filled with stories of optimism and perseverance. It
is important to feel good about an upcoming event or else it will naturally go
awry through negative thinking. Favorite sayings of Lathander include:
“From death, life,” “There is always another morning,” and “In the dawn,
beauty reigns, and the way is clearer.” Far more importance is placed on acting in the service of Lathander by helping, encouraging, and aiding than in
strict adherence to rituals, rules, and the dictates of superior clergy. This
practical philosophy is shared both by Lathander and his senior clergy.
Death is considered a reward for the clergy, since they are “going to Lathander” in the afterlife. Most clergy are not raised unless they are needed to
complete a task.

Day-to-Day Activities:   Lathanderites seek to build anew, encourage
the rebirth of barren areas and more productive growth in cultivated lands,
drive out evil, and either restore civilization to heights it once had or lead it
to new dizzying heights of interracial harmony, cooperation, and pursuit of
the arts and progress. To do this, they battle monsters to nurture civilization;
they plant seeds and new seedlings, they encourage and aid adventurers,
travelers, traders, and pilgrims as the harbingers of culture; and they recover
lost magical items, pieces of literature, and works of art. Lathanderites study,
restore, and attempt to duplicate, emulate, or expand upon these recovered
items and works when possible.

Temples and shrines also sponsor athletic events and competitions where
people of all classes and races can strive together in nonhostile competition
in wrestling, distance throwing, target archery, running, jumping, horseback
riding, or any of a number of other noninjurious sports. Other competitions
sponsored by Lathanderian churches are for honors in the literary and fine
arts. Such competitions are usually for a prize, which may be money, a special item or piece of art, or even a work written about the victor by a famous
poet or artist. Winning a competition sponsored by the Lathanderites brings
great status in certain circles.

Temples and shrines of Lathander provide aid to adventurers and communities in their area as long as such aid is returned in good faith. Priests of
Lathander try tirelessly to encourage those of good alignments to the more
dedicated worship of the Morninglord if they are not already Lathanderites,
but they do not insist on conversions or withhold aid if they are refused.

Lathanderites are expected to make regular offerings of ideas, inventions,
coins, discovered artifacts, or food to Lathanderian temples and shrines.
Much more valuable offerings such as magical items or quantities of gold are
demanded of nonbelievers in return for special services like rescue missions
or raising from the dead.

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies:   As may be surmised, most ceremonies of Lathander are held at dawn. Actions taken and contracts agreed
to at dawn are considered blessed by the god. Marriages held at Lathanderian temples or shrines at dawn are considered especially blessed and so dawn
is when the church most often holds such services, even if they are inconvenient for visiting guests. Funerals consist of a solemn, candlelit ceremony
called the Going Down. This ceremony is followed by a wake that lasts until
dawn prayers. Funerals are not held for those who are to be raised.
The most important ceremonies of worship are the daily prayers to Lathander at dawn, often held outdoors or where the dawn can be seen. This ritual is followed in importance by the twilight devotions. Some temples and shrines also add to these two daily ceremonies an optional prayer and song
to Lathander at highsun. To these daily devotions are added special prayers
said when offerings are presented at the altar and when priests call on Lathander for guidance or aid. These ceremonies are all joyful, but dignified, and
usually involve prayer, song, and ritual drinking of well water touched by the
dawn. On special occasions, on Midsummer morning, and on the mornings
of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, priests of Lathander perform the
Song of Dawn, praising, Lathander with a blend of vocal harmonies and
counterharmonies of beautiful complexity.

Major Centers of Worship:   The Spires of the Morning in Waterdeep,
headed by High Radiance Ghentilara, is the largest and probably most opulent of Lathander’s temples. The Tower of the Morning in Telpir, run by
High Radiance Durneth Seafarer, is the second most prominent of his
temples, though much simpler in design than the Spires of the Morning.

Affiliated Orders:  The church of Lathander has a knightly order of paladins, crusaders, and fighters known as the Order of the Aster. Members of
this order protect temples and shrines, serve to lead large military groups levied as needed to serve the church, and roam the land seeking to do good
in Lathander’s name and promote his worship. Individual temples and
shrines of Lathander do not usually maintain standing military forces of
substantial size due to their cost, although they often retain warriors and
members of the Order of the Aster to guard their establishments in numbers that each temple decides are appropriate and affordable.

Priestly Vestments:   Priests of Lathander dress in bright long-sleeved
robes of yellow, red, and pink. These are often called “sun robes.” Those
priests with their own temples have their robes trimmed with ornately
crafted gold ribbons. A sunburst headpiece, worn toward the back of the
head to emulate a rising sun or radiant sunpeacock, completes the ceremonial garb. The ritual robes used at many rural shrines are simple cassocks
with a color scheme by rank. Novices and postulants wear brown; adepts
and underpriests wear russet and crimson. Senior priests wear scarlet, and
subpriors and those of higher rank wear rose-red. The leader of the temple
or shrine wears white. Holy symbols of Lathander are often made of painted wood, cut from rose quartz or similar minerals, or enchanted to radiate a
dim, pink glow.

Adventuring Garb:  Adventuring clerics usually wear more utilitarian
garb, but prefer reds and yellows, to the point of tinting their armor those
shades. Most priests of Lathander favor chain mail, and often the only obvious mark of Lathander they bear is a rose-red circle on their shields and
helm brows.