Dano Gheinok was an Amarr prophet and is the first recorded leader of the Amarr people following the collapse of the EVE Gate. Historical records of his existence are fairly firm, as his existence is confirmed in documents that survived the Amarr conquest of Assimia. Though it appears he was working off an established canon, he is considered the founder of the Amarr religion.
History
Gheinok appears early in the Scriptures as a preacher and a prophet. They present him as a highly religious man in a time where religion was denigrated and ignored by the masses. He saw humanity as full of sin and proclaimed a forthcoming time of judgment that would see disaster if man did not turn back to God. While many did not listen to him, a group known as the Conformists heeded his words and rallied around him.
The Conformists were met with hostility and mistrust from those who did not believe in their god, however. They were eventually driven out of their homeland. Gheinok led his people on a great migration, through treacherous unknown, and eventually discovered a land far from those who were sinful. The people settled in this location and made Gheinok their leader. He revised their holy texts and made many prophecies of the times to come.
Curiously, the Scriptures seem to relate this story twice. The second telling is almost certainly a relation of the flight of the proto-Amarr from the continent of Assimia to Amarr Island. It includes specific details, such as landmarks, which have been positively identified. The earlier story is less explicit and does not feature place names or descriptions of locations, instead speaking more in metaphor and allegory. Additionally, the earlier story is told as if Gheinok was relatively young, while the second portrays him as an elder prophet, struggling with his own failing health as well as the rigors of travel.
Two main theories attempt to explain this redundancy. The first is that the similarity of the two stories is mere coincidence and tell of different events. The second story has been firmly established as a fairly historically accurate record of the proto-Amarr being driven off the Assimian mainland. The first supposedly tells the story of how the ancestors of the Amarr first journeyed to Assimia from other, distant lands. Some even posit that it is a story of the Amarr traveling through the EVE Gate and settling on Amarr Prime, though others do not believe such records could have survived.
The second theory states that the first telling is simply a mythologized version of the flight to Amarr Island, while the later telling contains more factual details. Adherents to this theory claim that the first story is the more important and focuses on the spiritual journey and consequences of the journey. The second story, they say, records the historical events as they remain of value even stripped of religious introspection.
Even the Amarr are split as to the truth of the matter. The Theology Council officially backs neither interpretation, though over the centuries differing sentiments have prevailed. However, neither view has gained a large enough majority to become entrenched as the canonical view. Many different cults in the Empire have divided based on their interpretations of the stories.
Religious Influence
While it appears that Dano Gheinok based much of his religious views off an established dogma, many of the earliest books of Scripture appear to have been written directly by him. The Book of Gheinok the First is the most obvious of his contributions, though there are also elements throughout Book I and Book II that show his influence as well.
Those three books, along with the Book of Reclaiming, form the basis of the Amarr religion and are thus considered the most important by the Amarr. Gheinok is subsequently remembered as the most important prophet of the Amarr people, though it seems unlikely he identified himself as an Amarr. His image is venerated throughout the Empire and wise emperors, saints, and prophets are often said to be speaking with the wisdom of Gheinok.
Gheinok's early leadership was obviously important in establishing the importance of religion among the Amarr. He placed God and religion ahead of all other things and during his leadership held the church together through his charisma alone. Though the church waned in power and influence following his death, it remained a vital part of the Amarr identity and was eventually brought back to prominence with the founding of the Amarr Empire.
The Grand Basilica of St. Gheinok the First Prophet in the Imperial City of Dam-Torsad is the "mother church" of the Amarr Imperial Rite, and its foundation date is celebrated as a high holiday of the Amarr Empire. Tradition places Foundation Day on 5th August, supposedly marking the construction by Dano Gheinok of the first Amarr church, over which the Grand Basilica is said to have been constructed. The day is one of several holidays dedicated to Dano Gheinok but it is arguably the most important as a universal celebration within the Amarr state religion.