The Church of the Eternal Fire is one of the most powerful religions in the North, and its heart beats in Novigrad. Its faithful worship an eternal flame that never dies, a symbol of light, purity and hope. That sounds lovely until you notice how many of its sermons end with someone being tied to a stake. The church is led by the Hierarch of Novigrad, and its great temple stands on Temple Isle in the middle of the city.
The Church in The Witcher 3
In The Witcher 3 the Church of the Eternal Fire is at the height of its power. Hierarch Cyrus Hemmelfart, an elderly preacher with a voice that could move mountains and opinions that could start wars, has joined forces with King Radovid. Together they turn Novigrad into a city of fear: witch hunters led by Caleb Menge patrol the streets, sorceresses and non-humans are rounded up, and the smell of burning pyres drifts over the squares. Geralt sees the result up close in quests like Pyres of Novigrad and Witch Hunter Raids, while Triss Merigold risks everything to smuggle mages out of the city.
Faith and its knights
The Eternal Fire has armed servants as well as priests. The Temple Guard keeps order in Novigrad, and the Order of the Flaming Rose once served the faith as its knightly arm, most famously in The Witcher 1.
In the books
Hemmelfart is already the Hierarch of Novigrad in the saga, and the church’s dislike of mages and non-humans is no secret. The games simply take that spark and pour oil on it.