Sanguis Astroism/Charter/Sevastian's Proposal

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Preamble

We believe that the Maddening Star influences our raw emotions and impulses.

We believe that the Auspicious Star influences our reason and capacity for logical thought.

We believe that the Austere Star influences our soul and capacity for serenity.

We believe that above all else, men should seek to reach a state of Harmony with the influence of all three Stars, so that we may act with Wisdom according to our knowledge.

We believe that to succeed at this is to attain Enlightenment, as the First Prophet Mathurin did.

We hold the spiritual writings of the First Prophet Mathurin to come from the greatest understanding of the Stars we have yet achieved. All should study them so we can better understand and study the Stars themselves.

We hold sacred the Open Hand, the Cup, and the Sword, whose principles guide the faith.

We believe that everyone should know and believe this creed to be true. We do not shun those who seek honest enlightenment, and we seek always to spread our knowledge of the Truth to the unenlightened.

All this we believe.

Article I, II, III, IV: The Elder Council

I. The Elder Council of the church is made of the following members:

A. The Light of the Austere Star
B. The Light of the Auspicious Star
C. The Light of the Maddening Star
D. The Luminary of the Austere Star
E. The Luminary of the Auspicious Star
F. The Luminary of the Maddening Star
G. Two Consuls
H. The Archons

Selection criteria for the Elders are described further on in this Charter.

II. During administration of the church, there are several occasions where a vote of the Elder Council is required. The following Elders may cast votes during a voting of the Elder council: the three Lights, the Archons, and the Consuls. All voting members are entitled to one vote.

III. A vote is initiated after a motion is proposed, and seconded. This will then trigger a four day voting period. The proposer and the second will automatically have their votes counted towards the proposal. A simple majority is required to pass a motion, except in the cases of declaring a Crusade or amending the Charter, which require a 2/3rds absolute majority.

IV. This Charter outlines the very foundations of the structure of the Church. As such, amending this Charter is not something to be taken lightly. Any revisions to this Charter require a vote of the Elder council. Any proposed revision must pass a vote with an absolute 2/3rds majority of possible votes. Any proposed revision not achieving the required votes will be discarded. The process for revising the Charter is as follows:

4a. Any Elder with voting power may propose a Charter revision. Only one revision proposal may be in discussion at a time. If a revision proposal is already being discussed, another may not be proposed until after the voting period for the currently open proposal has finished.


Article V, VI: The Lights and Luminaries

V. The Lights of the Church are elevated to that rank of Light from the rank of Luminary from the respective office when the previous Light abdicates. The remaining Lights must vote to confirm the elevation of a Luminary. If the Luminary does not secure the approval of the Lights, the Luminary is instead demoted to an appropriate full member rank, and elections will be held until both the positions of Light and Luminary are filled. Lights and Luminaries are required to be priests of the faith (the exception being the Light and Luminary of the Maddening in times of Crusade). A Light may be removed by a 2/3rds majority vote of the Elder Council.

A. The duties of the office of the Light of the Austere are as follows:
Temporal Duties: The Light of the Austere is responsible for the management of the Temples and treasury. The Light is responsible for ensuring that current temples are well funded as well as overseeing the construction of new temples and the expansion of old ones. He is also to monitor the global treasury and to raise money from the nobility if more funds are sorely needed. Also it is the office of the Austere, in the service of the Cup to offer information about the faith to our novices, as too often we have found the Church filled with converts in name only.
Spiritual Duties: The Light of the Austere is responsible for the perseverance of the Faith. It is the Light's duty to enact the decisions regarding the spiritual health of the Church.
B. The duties of the office of the Light of the Auspicious are as follows:
Temporal Duties: The Light of the Auspicious is responsible for the missionary work of the Faith. It is his duty to send out priests into heathen lands and coordinate their efforts to convert peasantry and nobility, preferably obtaining permission from the local authorities. It is also the duty of the Light with such aid as may be required to establish relations with other religions and to act as diplomatic envoys for the Church, if the Elders Council is in need of far-traveling messengers. Furthermore, in the practice of the Open Hand, the Light of the Auspicious shall attend to such secular disputes arising as may include the church as an interested party.
Spiritual Duties: The Light of the Auspicious is responsible for the intellectual advancement of the Faith. Any new theological treatise should be submitted to the Light of the Auspicious where it will be reviewed, before then being put forward to the priesthood as a whole. Taking this into account the Light will then decide whether or not to add it to the temple libraries, add an accompanying commentary or condemn the work as heresy.
C. The duties of the office of the Light of the Maddening are as follows:
Temporal Duties: The Light of the Maddening is responsible for the direction of hostile ecclesiastical action. It is his duty, and aided by his Luminary as necessary, to direct such actions as religious takeovers, auto-da-fe, influencing the peasantry and preaching unrest in heathen lands. He is also responsible for the use of temple funds in aiding the military armies of the faith in battle.
Spiritual Duties: The Light of the Maddening is responsible for the formal declaration of Holy Crusades. Any petition of a crusade will be sent to the Light of the Maddening and reviewed. It is then to be voted on by the Elder Council. As part of his duties both temporal and spiritual the Light of the Maddening is to keep in contact with the various theocratic rulers and generals in order to assess the military feasibility of crusades as well as managing successful ecclesiastical action during them.

D: The Lights also serve to safeguard the Church and Charter against those who would usurp its holy mandate. Only the Lights may amend the Charter, in compliance with proper protocol and the wishes of the Elder Council. The Lights may initiate proceedings to excommunicate or demote any member of the faith who is suspected of heresy, or breach of the Charter. The Lights also hold a minor privilege in that they may promote members of the faith to any full member rank, or any elder rank in compliance with the methods of selection within the Charter. In their role as Guardians of the Church, if two Lights agree that a member is acting against the tenants of the Charter, the member is attempting to actively subvert the Church from within or is guilty of heresy, the Lights have the power to discipline the member as they deem necessary. All disciplinary proceedings will be made a matter of public record upon completion.

VI. Luminaries are elected to their position until they are promoted, retire, or are removed. Luminaries must be priests, in good standing with the Church for at least 2 years (OOC: 6 months RL time) and are elected by the priests of the faith. Luminary candidates may not vote for themselves. When a luminary office is vacated, a three day candidacy period will be announced, followed by a four day voting period. Priests will submit their votes to the Elder Council.

A. For ease of Church infrastructure, Luminaries will all hold the rank of Luminary. However, each office is a separate position to be elected separately. This is to prepare a Luminary to become a Light.
B The Luminary of the Austere is to follow the ways of the Cup and assist the Light of the Austere in maintaining the Church's finances. When available, the Luminary of the Austere will also serve to administer any church elections by announcing candidacy and voting periods, as well as tallying votes.
C The Luminary of the Auspicious is to follow the ways of the Open Hand and assist the Light of the Auspicious in converting the heathen masses.
D The Luminary of the Maddening is to follow the ways of the Sword and assist the Light of the Maddening in dispatching the enemies of the faith. In times of Crusade, the Luminary of the Maddening may switch to be a warrior, so as to lead the armies of the faithful alongside the Light of the Maddening.

Article VII: The Consuls

VII. Consuls are elected every 2 years (OOC: 6 months RL time) by the full members of the church. The election process begins on the first day of Spring, of the year in which the election will be held. Each member is allowed one vote. The two nobles receiving the highest count of votes are selected as Consuls for the next term. The following special procedures apply to Consul elections:

A. The Consuls are elected to represent the interests and views of the Full Membership of the church. Therefore, members of the Elder Council may not vote in Consul elections, with the exception of the Consuls themselves.
B. There will be a three day candidacy period for nobles to announce their candidacy, beginning on the first day of Spring. At the end of this, the four day voting period will commence. Votes received outside this period will be discarded. Votes will be submitted to the Elder Council.
D. No more than one Consul may owe allegiance to a single realm. Should more than one noble owing allegiance to the same realm be among the top voted nobles, the one with the most votes will be selected. The others will be passed over, and the next noble with the highest votes will be selected.
E. Should a Consul office become vacant, a special mid-term election will be held to fill the vacancies. This will be an abbreviated election period. There will be a two-day period to announce candidacy, and a three-day election period. During this special election, each full member of the church may vote for a single candidate, who will receive a single vote. The newly elected Consul will serve the remainder of the abbreviated term. The next Consul elections will be held on the normal schedule.
F. The duty of the office of the Consuls is to represent the desires and needs of the entire membership of the Church, regardless of nationality or politics or ecclesiastical authority, to the Elder Council. In addition, the Consuls will help to maintain order and decorum during discussions among the church membership.
G. Consuls may be removed from their office by a 2/3 vote of the Elder Council in cases where the Consuls are ignoring the expressed interests of the full membership of the church, engaging in partisan politics on behalf of secular powers, convicted of heresy, or commit other high crimes and misdemeanors such as bring into question their suitability for a position of such high ecclesiastical authority. The Elder Council shall provide a clear statement of the reason for the Consul's removal from office three days prior to the vote for their removal's beginning, and such statement shall be supplied to the whole full membership of the church.


Article IIX and IX: The Theocracies

IIX. The church of Sanguis Astroism is also deeply concerned for the institution and protection of the faith in those realms where it has historically been associated with the governance of the realms, namely, the theocracies, and those states whose existence is in their entirety dependent upon the historical conquests and benevolence of theocracies. For theocracies themselves, the following rights are granted:

A. The church shall condemn and oppose any aggressive war by any pagan or heretical power at any time against any theocracy. The identification of a conflict as an "aggressive war" shall be up to the Elders.
B. The church shall support the good order and social stability of theocratic-controlled lands insofar as is possible to do.
C. The church shall not offer recognition or sanction to any change of allegiance by any theocratic lands, nor secession, nor government reform, nor revolt against the legitimate and theocratic governments of those lands, except by a unanimous approval by the remaining Theocratic rulers.
D. The church shall not accept a realm forming as a Theocracy without a vote by the Elder Council resulting in a simple majority in favor of accepting the realm as a Theocratic state.
E. Each theocracy's ruler will be granted a seat on the Elder Council and given the rank of Archon, unless aforementioned ruler already has a seat on the Elder Council. Each Archon will be accorded voting power on the Council, and will be held equal in stature to the Consuls.

IX. The church of Sanguis Astroism also recognizes that the theocracies owe a portion of their resilience and stability to the beneficial effects of the church, and believes that even the term "theocracy" implies a degree of uniformity in action and belief. Therefore, for the theocracies themselves, the following responsibilities are incurred:

A. The official religion of the realm must be Sanguis Astroism. Only Astroist temples and preaching shall be permitted, unless temporary exemptions for practical considerations are granted.
B. Dukes and lords of cities may only be full members or elders of Sanguis Astroism, unless special permission is granted by the elder council.
C. The ruler and judge must be full members or elders of Sanguis Astroism, and no exceptions shall be made.
D. The judge of each theocratic realm, upon arriving in that position, shall present him or herself to the church membership, and publicly swear an oath to defend the faith, to uphold just and holy laws, to safeguard the practice of Sanguis Astroism and only Sanguis Astroism, and to expel all heretics and enemies of the faith from their realm. The Elders of Sanguis Astroism shall be tasked with holding the faithful judges to their oaths.
E. All theocratic realms shall declare war upon any target of a church-sanctioned crusade.
F. All theocratic realms shall endeavor to ensure that any realms which may be under their protection or founded under their auspices shall also uphold Sanguis Astroism, and seek the promotion of our religion and the visible presence of the church.