The Temple of Divine Diversity
This is a magnificent building with a gilded roof situated on one side of the
Plaza. Formerly it was inhabited by the priests of the Empire but when Llaza became independent they fled in the mistaken belief that the rebels would persecute them. The building remained empty for several decades, except for squatters and rats, until a new, deeply religious, Viceroy decided to clean it up and start using it again. There then followed several years of political and religious wrangling about whose religion it should be dedicated to - given the complex and multi-cultural nature of the city itself. It was finally decided to make the temple non-denominational.
The building is run by a committee made up of the local leaders of the major faiths (and deciding if a faith was "major" enough caused a whole new row, as did deciding who was the local leader of some of them). They contribute to the upkeep of the building and organize a schedule of which faiths can use it for which festival days. Prominent families hire it for weddings etc., with their own religious practitioners. As you can imagine it's a rather awkward system at best, frequent disagreements arise, lesser religions who were promised the use of it for a festival day are often let down if a sufficiently wealthy family needs it for a ceremony and so on. Most of the religions whose festivals clash have worked out a rota system allowing them to use the temple on alternate years but a great deal of acrimony still exists. The Viceroy frequently has to smooth ruffled feathers and work out compromises. The only day of the year where harmony reigns is New Years Day. As part of the Turn of the Year celebrations there is a parade around the city of all the movers and shakers in their finery, dispensing food and money and trying to outdo each other. It ends at the Temple where a service is held to thank the gods for the good things, take wisdom from setbacks and to pray for good fortune (which doesn't just mean luck!) in the next year. Priests from all the faiths conduct the service, so it takes quite a while. The Viceroy's Ball ends the day.
There are of course many dedicated temples of varying degrees of splendour around the city, however its architectural magnificence and central position make the Temple particularly desirable for those attention grabbing ceremonies that religions are so fond of. Its most interesting feature is a system of pipes and chambers that means those on the dais addressing the congregation can be heard with amazing clarity and volume in the Plaza outside. The mechanism, which no-one now actually understands, can be set to closed for private ceremonies but it is extremely useful for the Turn of the Year Service.
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