The Jedi withdrawal from the Republic in 11,933 BBY did not produce unanimity. Jedi who remained loyal to the Pius Dea rejected the Order's Recusal and formed a separate organization known as the Order of the Terrible Glare. They settled on Garn and aligned themselves with the theocratic Republic.
Recusal produces a schism
The new order represented a pro-Pius Dea alternative to the Jedi majority on Ossus.
Its existence complicated any simple claim that the Jedi Order as a whole opposed the regime from the beginning.
Settlement on Garn
The group established itself on Garn. A separate base allowed the order to build identity outside the authority of the Jedi leadership on Ossus.
Geographic separation reinforced institutional separation.
Loyalty to state and faith
The Terrible Glare placed loyalty to Pius Dea and the Republic above the decision of the wider Jedi Order.
That choice turned a disagreement over policy into a new religious-political organization.
Anthropological assessment
The Order of the Terrible Glare shows that religious and political crises divide institutions internally. Shared training and identity do not guarantee shared judgments about legitimate authority.
The schism also demonstrates how states can gain legitimacy by recruiting dissidents from prestigious institutions. Pius Dea could point to Force-users with Jedi backgrounds as evidence that its rule was compatible with older Republic traditions.
Sources and further reading
- Jason Fry with Paul R. Urquhart, Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare, Del Rey, 2012.
- Order of the Terrible Glare, Wookieepedia