Yevonism is a fictional religion in Final Fantasy X, a computer role-playing game, by Squaresoft for the PlayStation 2. The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... Final Fantasy X (ファイナルファンタジーX Fainaru Fantajī X) is the tenth title of the Final Fantasy role-playing game series and the first installment of the series released on the PlayStation 2. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally uses gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ... Square Co. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3. ...

In Final Fantasy X, the people of Spira follow the Teachings of Yevon. (Yevon and Yu Yevon refer to the same person). Yu Yevon (Ebon Ju in the Japanese version; エボン・ジュ Ebon Ju) was a summoner who lived in Zanarkand one thousand years before the start of the game. Image File history File links Mark of Yevon made by PiccoloNamek in Photoshop, he released it in the Public Domain. ... Map of Spira Spira is the world in which the role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are based. ... The Summoner (sometimes referred to in English localizations as Caller) is a character class (or job) featured in Square Enixs Final Fantasy series of RPGs. ... Map of Spira Spira is the world in which the role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are based. ...

Nearly all the peoples of Spira follow the teachings of Yevon, including the Ronso and the Guado (converted in recent years by Jyscal Guado). The Al Bhed, viewed as heretics by the autocracy for their use of machina (a practice strictly forbidden by the church), do not follow the teachings. As for the Hypello, whether or not they follow Yevon’s teachings is never explored in the game. The Al Bhed are a faction of technologists in the role-playing game Final Fantasy X. They are notable for their use of machina prohibited by the Yevon religion and the Al Bhed language which they speak, and can be recognized by the black spiral pattern visible on the irises...

The Yevon church draws heavy inspiration from real-life religions such as Shintoism (practices and temples), Buddhism (iconography) and Catholicism (hierarchical structure). Shintō (Japanese: 神道) is the native religion of Japan. ... A replica of an ancient statue of Gautama Buddha, found from Sarnath, near Varanasi Buddhism, a religion and philosophy from ancient India, is based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, of the Shakyas. ... This article considers Catholicism in the broadest ecclesiastical sense. ...

Temples of Yevon

Temples of Yevon are found throughout Spira. At the heart of each temple is a Chamber of the Fayth, a room that contains a Fayth -- a statue that houses a willingly-given human soul. It is this soul that becomes a mighty Aeon (see “Summoners” below).

There are five official Temples of Yevon, each with their own Fayth:

• Bevelle – Home to the Fayth Bahamut. Also the central temple of the Yevon Church.
• Macalania – Home of the Fayth Shiva.
• Djose – Home of the Fayth Ixion.
• Kilika – Home of the Fayth Ifrit.
• Besaid – Home of the Fayth Valefor.

There are also three unofficial Temples of Yevon:

• Remiem – Home of the Fayth The Magus Sisters. Location was lost after a great battle with Sin.
• Baaj – Home of the Fayth Anima. (Since Anima's Fayth, Seymour's mother, was created recently, this may not have been the temple's original Fayth)
• Cavern of the Stolen Fayth – Home of the Fayth Yojimbo. Centuries earlier, the Yojimbo Fayth was stolen from an unknown temple and taken to the cave to impede Summoner journeys. (Though never stated in the game, the Yojimbo Fayth could have originally been in Baaj Temple, given the strong Japanese theme of both the Yojimbo Aeon and Baaj Temple’s design)

When Summoners journey to defeat Sin, they arrive at the final temple:

• Zanarkand – Home of Yunalesca, the first Summoner to defeat Sin. There is a Fayth in Zanarkand (Lord Zaon, Yunalesca's husband and the first Final Aeon), however it lost it's power as a fayth long ago. Now, Yunalesca turns a guardian of the Summoner's choosing into the Final Aeon.

Hierarchy

At the top of the Yevon church’s hierarchy, there is the position of Grand Maester (a position similar to that of a pope). In the game, Grand Maester Mika has held the position for 50 years. Below the Grand Maester are three positions known simply as Maester (a position similar to that of a cardinal). The Maesters have many duties within the church including making laws, presiding over Yevon’s High Court, commanding the various military arms of the church and so forth. The Pope (from Greek: pappas, father; from Latin: papa, Papa, father) is the successor of St. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals during a consistory. ...

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 (Maester Seymour is also the High Priest of Macalania Temple). Many priests are Summoners or former Summoners. Priests tend to wear multicoloured vestments of white, green and orange. Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religions, especially the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican Churches. ...

Below the Priests is the title of Summoner (a position similar to a cross between a priest and a miko). The Summoners are charged with the greatest responsibility, to journey to Zanarkand, obtain the Final Aeon and destroy Sin. Summoners also perform the “Sending”, a ritual that guides the souls of the dead to the Farplane. The title of High Summoner refers to Summoners who have defeated Sin. Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Miko at Aso shrine in Aso, Japan Miko (巫女) are young women in the service of Shinto shrines of Japan. ...

Lastly, the church has a number of Acolytes (similar to deacons or nuns). They work at the throughout Spira performing a number of jobs for the church. Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. ... Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann In general, a nun is a female ascetic who chooses to voluntarily leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. ...

Arms of the Yevon Church

The Yevon Church also has many militant arms in addition to the Summoners:

• The Warrior Monks serve as protectors of the Maesters and the temples, primarily the city of Bevelle.
• Guardians serve as protectors of the Summoners, but are not directly related to the church. A Summoner chooses their Guardians and can choose non-Yevonites if they wish; though this practice is not only rare, but also looked down upon. The unofficial title of Legendary Guardian referres to a Guardian who survives a Summoner's pilgrimage that results in the defeat of Sin.
• The Crusaders, formerly known as the Crimson Blades, are a loosely-knit army that exists to protect towns and temples from Sin. Unlike the Guardians, Crusaders are directly related to the church. No non-Yevonite is permitted to serve as a Crusader, although there are unofficial chapters comprised entirely of people who have been excommunicated. Around the time of Operation Mi'ihen, a joint Crusader-Al Bhed attempt to destroy Sin, the final selection process for an elite group to be known as the Crimson Squad took place, but as there were only three survivors (who then escaped murder at the hands of the Yevon church), the group was never put into action. Unlike the Crusaders, non-Yevonites were allowed to train with the Crimson Squad, such as Gippal.

Gippal speaking at Luca Stadium Gippal is a major non-player character in the computer role-playing game Final Fantasy X-2. ...

Practices

Prayer to Yevon is conducted a complicated gesticulation that starts with the hands out to either side before bringing them into the chest, as though holding a sphere, and bowing. This evolved from a Blitzball ritual. Bowing is the act of lowering the head, or sometimes the entire upper body from the waist, as a social gesture. ... Sphere pool at Luca blitzball stadium Blitzball is a fictitious, vaguely rugby-like sport played by characters in two games of the Final Fantasy video game series, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2. ...

Additionally, Summoners are obligated to perform "The Sending" for the deceased. This is a ritual dance that sends the "pyreflies" (multicolour lights that contain a person's life-force) of the deceased on their way to the Farplane—the afterlife—preventing the pyreflies from coalescing into a fiend. The Farplane is the final resting place for the people of Spira(as we have heaven, the people of Spira have the farplane). ... // The following is a list of creatures from the Final Fantasy series and the titles in which they appear. ...

History

At the time when Yu Yevon was a summoner there was a great war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. It was at Yevon's order, many of the people of Zanarkand gave up their lives to become fayth. Yevon merged with the life-force (pyreflies) of the people to create an invincible armor called Sin. With Sin, he decimated Bevelle's army but also destroyed Zanarkand in the process as well as the other machina cities of the world to prevent them from starting another war. He ordered the Fayths to create a dream of Zanarkand as it was before its destruction, so Zanarkand would never truly fade into history. Map of Spira Spira is the world in which the role-playing games Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 are based. ... Sin is the mighty beast and main antagonist in the 2001 Square Co. ...

Yunalesca

Yevon had a daughter, Lady Yunalesca, who created a technique called the Final Summoning, the only way Sin's hard armor could be pierced. A summoner who trains his/her aeon-summoning abilities could call the Final Aeon at the end of her/his pilgrimage which Guardians travel with her/him to ensure her/his safety. The Aeon is an ultimate summon created from a guardian of the summoner, who has a close bond with her; the guardian is killed and turned into a fayth, who then controls the aeon. Summoning the Final Aeon destroys Sin, but Yevon would endure and merge with the Final Aeon to craft a new Sin from it. The summoner, after defeating Sin with the Final Aeon, loses her life to it because of Yevon merging with the Aeon and killing the summoner in the process. Yunalesca proclaims that this rite can defeat Sin for a time and give Spira hope for a short while, but unless the world embraces the teachings of Yevon and atones for their sins, Sin will never disappear completely. The following is a list of major and minor characters from the Square Enix role-playing game Final Fantasy X. Many of these characters reprise their roles in the games sequel Final Fantasy X-2. ...

Bevelle was still terrified of Yevon and Sin, and in order to appease Yevon, St. Bevelle began to follow his teachings. The teachings mainly revolve around the Final Summoning and the ban of machina, as it was Yevon's wish that there should never again be another machina war. St. Bevelle began to set up temples throughout Spira, and in each temple is a Fayth. To govern these laws, the Order of Yevon came to be, with four Maesters at the top, a High Priest for each temple, and many other priests, monks and nuns.

A Zanarkandian song which later becomes known as the Hymn of the Fayth is taken up by those who defy Bevelle, including the fayth inside the temples. At first Bevelle prohibits the use of the song, in which the Al Bhed then pick it up, change it into a song against Yevon in which Bevelle couldn't do anything to stop them. Then a new story started spreading from Bevelle about how the song was sung to soothe the souls of the dead in which they made the song into scripture and it spread throughout all of Spira in connection with Yevonism as a holy song. The Hymn of the Fayth sample â–¶(?) is a song composed by Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu for the Final Fantasy X game on the PlayStation 2. ... The Fayth Summoning the Dream Zanarkand The Fayth are humans who willingly had their souls sealed in statues in a state of dreaming. ...

The end of Yevon

Yu Yevon's corporeal form.

At the end of the game, Tidus, Yuna, and Yuna's other guardians entered Sin and killed Yu Yevon, ending his control over Spira and breaking the people's faith in Yevonism. Along the way, they exposed the church's corruption, hypocrisy and horrific internal workings (a trait commonly found in religion and government in Final Fantasy games). Yu Yevons corporeal form. ... Yu Yevons corporeal form. ... Tidus (ティーダ Tida in the Japanese version) is the main protagonist in the video game Final Fantasy X. As the leading character, the player controls Tidus through the world based in the game, manipulating his actions through the unfolding storyline in true traditional Final Fantasy style. ... Summoner Yuna performing the Sending Yuna (ユウナ Yuna in Japanese) is a playable main character in both Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2 of the Final Fantasy video games series from Square Enix, and cameos in Kingdom Hearts II. She is voiced by Mayuko Aoki in the Japanese versions...

Two years later, in Final Fantasy X-2, the moral teachings of Yevon were revitalized in the form of the New Yevon Party under Praetor Baralai. Although technically a splinter group of Yevon, the New Yevon Party was not a religion, but a way of life, their motto (and position on technological advancement) being: "One thing at a time."
Final Fantasy X-2 (ファイナルファンタジーX-2 Fainaru Fantajī X-2, pronounced: ten-two) is a role-playing game in the Final Fantasy series, and the first to be a true sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into List of Final Fantasy X-2 characters. ...