The Ori are, in the fictitious universe of Stargate, a religious faction of Alterans. They are the enemies of the Anciens, which are also of Alterans.

Origin

Million years ago in a remote galaxy lived an advanced race, the Alterans, which invented the Porte of the stars. They were on the evolutionary way of the Ascension. A religious faction extremists, named " Ori" , was born and tried to impose its faith to the other members of the species. Ori became increasingly enthusiastic in their religious belief and imposed on their members a total veneration, under penalty of elimination. Thus, instead of entering in war against these fanatics, Alterans, appreciably scientists and peaceful, left their galaxy and travelled during millenia of galaxies in galaxies until being established in ours. These Alterans were thereafter named Ancien by the other people of the Milky Way.

Ori then carried out the Ascension, and they left their body to make migrate their spirit in a higher plan of existence. The Anciens also carried out the Rise. But, whereas those live without interfering with the lower plans of existence, Ori require these creatures, like the human ones, to venerate them like gods. It is the condition so that Ori offer the Ascension to them. However, this promise of Rise is false. Ori do not wish to share their capacities. Their difference with the Anciens is also visual: when they appear in our plan of existence, the Anciens have the form of a kind of phantoms of a white immaculate and informs (even if they can appear with an human form) whereas Ori are a kind of phantoms of fire.

Religion

• Ori require that the human ones venerate them such of the gods. They destroy those which refuse to be subjected to their will. Even if they are not gods, the Rise gets unimaginable capacities to them. They do not have thus any evil to be made pass for gods.

• more the high representative of Ori in the material world is human called the Doci. He lives in the city of the gods on Celestis. He is the direct intermediary between the material world and Ori, those being able to speak directly while briefly incarnating himself in him.
• At the lower level, the religion of Ori, called the Way of the Origins or simply the Origins, is propagated through the universe via the Prêcheurs. They are human the particularly fanatic ones to which them Ori transmitted great capacities, thanks to a kind of ritual practiced in front of the " flames of the illumination" on Celestis. In exchange of the faith, Ori promise to the Preachers and with the other faithful Rise at the time of their death, without passing by the meditation normally necessary for that. This promise, allied to the death threat in the event of not-belief, explains the devotion full and whole the faithful ones of Ori.
• the Preachers are what the Goa' uld name Ok' Tar, of human evolved/moved, i.e. having a very developed brain which can be used with more than 50%, with the limit of the Rise (which can be carried out naturally when more than 80% of the brain is used). The modifications carried out on their body are so violent that they become blind about it. Their eyes become milky and their face is sagging wrinkles because of the ritual. Thereafter, they are able to show extraordinary capacities of telekinesis: to raise remote objects, to stop the balls or to strangle remote somebody. The Preachers can also call upon special capacities via their sceptre. They can generate viruses starting from their DNA, look after wounds or ressusciter deaths, even immoler. The first Preacher sent in the Milky Way immola itself using its stick of being able with an aim of intimidating the men of the SGC and the chief of the Jaffa nation in the episode 9.03 " The Book of Origines". It is an additional proof of their exacerbated fanaticism. On the other hand, it would seem that the car-immolation is also means of protection which would be established by Ori in the body of the Preachers, if those would be voluntarily turned over against their gods. It is the case of Gerak in the episode 9.11 " The Fourth Rider of the Apocalypse, 2" part; , because it had helped the Earth against the will of Ori. Its body ignited instantaneously, not leaving any trace behind.
• When they carry out a crusade, Ori place under the orders of the Preachers of the basic combatants, of the fanatic crusaders, in order to support them in combat. The Preachers cannot indeed with them all alone oppose whole armies, since their psychic capacities consume much of their energy inevitably. The fanatic Crusaders carry metal coasts of mesh and sometimes of the helmets. They fight with the body with body using a sword, or remote using a spear which can project energy salvos, in the same way that a lance Jaffa. The Crusaders usually move in group of ten combatants, carried out by a Preacher.
• the crowned book of this Ori religion is called the Book of the Origins.
• Beyond the ego, the reason of the megalomania of Ori to be made venerate as gods by the most possible world has a goal plus ground with ground, revealed by Orlin, Old (episode 9.10, " The Fourth Rider of Apocalypse"). Mental energy released by the faithful ones increases the power of Ori, which pushes them to want to convert the whole universe. Moreover, Ori do not achieve their promise; they do not raise the faithful ones and the Preachers at the time of their death. A Preacher of Ori reveals the reason of the interest of Ori for the Milky Way in the episode 9.11 " The Fourth rider of the Apocalypse, 2" part; : they come to destroy the Former students.

The company of Ori

• the Ori company is organized in the form of small villages which are built often in the same way. They have a whole a temple dedicated to Ori, as well as a central place carrying a construction of the form of " The Mark of New-Âge" , the hook with an oval in the center. This stone furnace bridge is useful to them is with immoler people in public place for the " purifier" , that is to say to punish possible blasphemers by simple tortures (Ex: To deprive somebody of food and water during several days). It is also on this place that, several hours per day, the inhabitants are invited to meet for daily prostration. Each village is generally managed by an administrator appointed by the Preachers. The administrator has the full powerss in the village and can even decide if blasphemy there is or not. In this converted company, the Preachers are there for two roles: they contribute to the daily prayers while coming to exempt the word of Ori, and they also come to play the inquisiteurs to track any form of incipient rebellion. It is in these villages that the troops of fanatics are generally recruited who are used for the Crusades.

Contact with our Galaxy

• Ori did not know the Milky Way at the beginning. Our galaxy was hidden by the Anciens to avoid falling under the domination from their enemy brothers, Ori. But, one day, an apparatus of Ancien communication was discovered by SG-1 in England. With him, Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran transferred their spirit in the bodies from a couple being on a planet of the galaxy of Ori. Ori thus learned the existence from the Milky Way, and the Doci ordered the launching of a Crusade with an aim of converting our galaxy in the Beginnings. Preachers are consequently sent on many planets of our Galaxy. The majority of visited planets being populated primitive natives, they are easily converted. Indeed, since the fall of the Empire Goa' uld, the people in the past submitted by the latter know that the Goa' uld are not gods, but of vulgar parasites infecting the human ones, which destroyed the spiritual and religious reference marks of these civilizations. They are thus particularly vulnerable to the apparent wisdom of the Preachers and especially to their quasi-divine capacities (for example they know ressusciter deaths), and convert with the religion of Ori without resistance. With each time a Preacher of Ori visits a planet populated by the human primitive ones, it carries out the same plan. Shortly after the departure of the Preacher, a plague mortal is spread on planet. The Preacher returns some time later to check that its forgiveness and that of Ori are beseeched by the human ones. The Preacher eradic then the plague and ressuscite deaths thanks to its capacities, definitively proving the divine nature of Ori to the eyes of the refractory individuals. This tactic was used successfully by a Preacher of Ori on planet in the past controlled by the Goa' uld Qetesh (of which the host was Vala). In the contrary case, rebellious civilization is entirely destroyed in a few days by the disease.

• But of technologically advanced civilizations also converts, like the Protectorate of Rand or even part of the people Jaffa. Gerak itself, leader of the Jaffas adhered to the cause of Ori and became a Preacher of Ori. When a Preacher of Ori arrives on a planet populated by of Jaffas which refuses to be subjected, it plants its stick in the ground and it destroys all in a few moments. The Earth refusing to convert, the plague of Ori was widespread there. The Earth was however saved in extremis by the Preacher Gerak, who there éradiqua the Plague of Ori. Some Goa' uld, which were still made pass for gods some time ago, convert too. It is the case of Nerus.

• the galaxy of Ori is very far away from the Milky Way. The only means that they found to make there come a space fleet is to use gigantic a space Porte of the stars. There is of them one which was built in our galaxy in episode SG-1 09x06 " Piège" , but it was destroyed in time by Vala. But Ori finally succeeded in building another " Superporte" which allows their fleet, made up of four vessels Ori, to arrive in the Milky Way at the end of season 9 of Stargate SG-1 .