What’s the Magisterium in His Dark Materials?

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The Magisterium is a religious body that plays heavily in Philip Pullman’s fantasy novels, His Dark Materials. The group is roughly analogous to the Catholic Church in our world, albeit with some key differences.

In the world history of the Church of Lyra, things appear to have been much the same as in our world, up until the time of John Calvin, who in this alternate timeline became Pope. While in our world, John Calvin was a leading Protestant thinker, based in Geneva, in Lyra’s world there was apparently no real Protestant Reformation, and instead the Church simply adopted many Protestant ideals.

Pope John Calvin moved the seat of the Church to Geneva, and started a process of decentralization. When he died, the Papacy itself was abolished and the Magisterium became a much more bureaucratic, less centralized body. The Magisterium kept society in check, perhaps due to the absence of turmoil between the Protestant and Catholic divisions, and by the time of the books it retained control over most of society.

The Magisterium is the last political, social and religious body in these books. It dictates what can be taught, controls most of the world’s governments, and reacts viciously to dissent. The Magisterium is a distinctly religious organization and bears many similarities to the Catholic Church during the period of the Inquisition.

Due to its decentralization, the Magisterium is also full of internal political struggles. Various factions compete for higher levels of power and are often played against each other. It is evident in the book that different groups within the Magisterium are withholding information from each other, in order to further their own political agendas. The three most powerful of these factions appear to be the General Oblation Council, the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit, and the Consistorial Court of Discipline.

The General Oblation Council operates ex cathedra in many ways and is ostensibly accountable neither to the Consistorial Court of Disciples nor to any other organization. Their main job is to destroy the dust, which is seen as a physical manifestation of sin itself. To achieve their goal, they have free rein and have amassed immense power.

The Consistorial Court of Discipline is, as the name suggests, the disciplinary branch of the Magisterium. They investigate all claims of heresy and are given carte blanche to punish and kill as they see fit. The Court is a small, close-knit group led by twelve fanatical priests, who see their job as keeping the Magisterium pure.

The Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit is a research branch of the Magisterium. While the Consistorial Disciplinary Tribunal accuses people of heresy and punishes them accordingly, the Society of the Work of the Holy Spirit works to examine heresies and classify them into categories. They are essentially a scientific organization, albeit operating within the strict confines of the doctrine of the Magisterium. They investigate the nature of Dust, and various other universes, for example, even though these things are considered heretical by the Magisterium itself.

The Magisterium is presented slightly differently in the books and in the film adaptation of the first book, The Golden Compass. It is made very clear in the books that the Magisterium is simply an analogue of the Catholic Church in our world, albeit a somewhat more vicious and more powerful Church. In the film this connection is downplayed, and the Magisterium appears to be a more fictionalized body, perhaps to reduce the level of backlash from Church groups.

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