The two largest denominations, colloquially referred to as the Northern Church and the Southern Church, followed earlier organizational practices of the parish, bailiwick, diocese, and archdiocese structure. Each village, town block, or city block typically had a church, and every head of household in lands where the churches operated was obligated to tithe ten percent of their annual earnings and harvest or to provide services in kind, as negotiated at the local level.

Collecting the tithes sometimes was difficult, but in theory, the tithes then divided into the four quarters (a quarter to maintain the priest, a quarter to maintaining and improving the church building, a quarter to the bishop, and a quarter to alms for the poor and care for the sick.

The tithing practice generally was the norm among the other smaller religions and splinter denominations. Without a large hierarchy to support, a greater portion of the tithe income was available for local purposes, but some religious leaders used far too much of the coin for personal expenditures.

Although often resented for their wealth, the two major Churches spent a lot of money on defensive fortifications, hospitals, monasteries and granges, new church buildings or cathedrals, leper colonies, and alms houses and other aid to the poor.

Every city with a cathedral also had a school, and many of those schools attracted the best teachers and grew into the first Universities. For a variety of reasons, all the great southern universities eventually broke free from direct oversight by either the Church or King; they typically remained loyal to the sovereign, but they theoretically possessed intellectual freedom. In the Tiberian Empire, the Northern Church maintained a high degree of control over the University of Tricolles and the other universities in the provinces.

Other Sources of Revenue

Earnings from monastic holdings

Rents on donated houses and properties

Burial fees

Bell fees

Marriage fees

Donations from weekly services and alms boxes

Donations in exchange for prayers

Gifts from high nobility

Gifts from estates and wills

Contributions from religious associations and fraternities

Confiscated resources from or penalties paid by criminals

Appeals for support for special projects

Selling letters of indulgence (ended under Pontiff Amadei)