Sanguis Astroism/Decrees

In accordance with Article 4 of the Severine Charter this document records all decrees made by the elder council. All decrees listed herein are to be considered standing unless they have explicit expiration clauses or have been struck-down by subsequent decrees.

Decree for the Recognition of Tol Goldora as a Theocracy of Sanguis Astroism

The Elder Council formally recognizes Tol Goldora as a theocracy of the Divine Blood Stars

Decree for the Creation of the Elder Rank "Captain of the Temple Guard"

The Elder council approves the creation of a new elder rank "Captain of the Temple Guard". Their duty is the assist the Lord Commander in maintaining the temple guard to the best of their ability. Directly defending temples when necessary and possible would also be encouraged. The Lord Commander will permit them to hire or fire temple guards, and enlarge temples in order to better defend them. In all matters they are to be considered subordinate to the Lord Commander and should not take any official actions against his orders. Like other elders they must announce their intentions before taking official action and allow two days time for any objections.

The Captain will be entitled to borrow up to 100 gold from the treasury, with which to hire new guards. If these resources are insufficient they may request additional funds be deposited at a temple of their choice. Fulfilling such requests is at the discretion of any noble of the church who wishes to donate and no one is under any obligation to do so.

Though the Captain holds elder rank they are not officially members of the Elder Council. They do not vote nor can they officially introduce a matter to vote upon. They may be asked to report to the council or offered the opportunity to contribute to discussions. The elder council is under no obligation to share any deliberations with the Captain.

The Captain shall be selected by the Lord Commander. They may issue a call for applicants to find suitable candidates. The Council of Three will then have two days to vote on the selected candidate. They may vote to approve, veto, or call for a period of deliberation. If two days pass without a vote from at least two voting elders this shall be considered a vote of "no objection" and the candidate shall be made Captain.

The Captain shall serve for life unless they resign or are dismissed. A Captain may be dismissed by the Lord. Commander or by vote of the Council of Three. The Commander or the council, such as the case may be, shall announce if the Captain is being dismissed honorably or dishonorably. In the event that it is the Lord Commander who has initiated the dismissal, there shall be a two day grace period during which voting elders may approve the dismissal, reject it, or call for a period of a deliberation. If two days pass without a vote from at least two voting elders this shall be considered a vote of "no objection" and the Captain shall be dismissed"

Decree for the Creation of the Elder Rank of Luminary

"The Elder council approves the creation of a new elder rank "Luminary". Luminaries must be priests. They are non-voting elders who serve as advisors and help to maintain the priest and secular balance within the elder council. Candidates for Luminary are nominated by the Prophetess and then approved by a majority vote of the Council of Three. The Luminary serves for life unless they resign or are dismissed by a a 2/3rds vote of the council of three. When a motion is made to dismiss the council must state if this is an honorable or dishonorable dismissal. The elder council is not obligated to fill the rank of Luminary when there is no need for one."

A Decree for the Protection of Priests and the Regulation of Hostile Religious Actions

1. Sacrosanctity of Priests

Priests should by default be considered sacrosanct. Members of this body are forbidden to injure or accost them in any way and shall be punished for doing so according to the nature and severity of the transgression. A priest's sacrosanctity however is not absolute and may be lost or limited under certain conditions.

1.2 There are three degrees of violation of sacrosanctity:

1.2.1 A violation in the third degree shall consist of any noble arresting a priest or a Astroist judge deporting a priest to another continent. The punishment for such violations shall be determined by the elder council. Under certain circumstances a violation of sacrosanctity in the third degree shall be permissible for certain individuals. In others a violation in the third degree may be upgraded to a violation in the second (see:hostile religious actions). The arrest of a priest by local authorities, such as may happen when they travel through enemy territory or fail an auto de fe or religious takeover, shall not be considered a violation on the part of the region lord, only those arrests expressly ordered by them constitute a violation of sacrosanctity in the third degree.

1.2.2 A violation in the second degree shall consist of any Astroist noble assaulting a priest as an infiltrator or conspiring to see a priest wounded or killed. In absence of mitigating circumstances the punishment for such an assault by a member of this church is excommunication. The excommunication shall not be rescinded without a majority vote of the elder council in response to sincere acts of contrition.

1.2.3 A violation in the first degree shall consist of an Astroist Judge executing or attempting to execute a priest. A violation in the first degree shall never be acceptable, only a priest who has been stripped of sacrosanctity may be killed. Anyone of this congregation who commits a violation of sacrosanctity in the first degree shall not only be excommunicated but proscribed. Their name shall be placed upon a list of the proscribed and cannot be removed save by a unanimous vote of the council in recognition of extreme contrition. The church shall henceforth consider their lands a legitimate target for auto de fes in perpetuity wherever they may reside. Any noble of the faith who wounds a proscribed enemy of the church shall, should they desire it, be granted an honorific rank and a reward of 500 gold.

2. Hostile Religious Actions

2.1 Oversight by the Elder Council

Hostile religions actions may be divinely inspired and acts inspired by the Holy Blood Stars should not be punished by the church. There are ways of determining if one's motives are consistent with the will of the Blood Stars. There shall be investigations into all uses of Auto De Fes, Religious Takeovers, persecution of heretics, and sermons meant to spread disloyalty to the ruling realm and cause general unrest. The prophet(ess) and other priests shall examine the events leading up to the incident, consult the Blood Star charts, assess the priest's mental state before, during, and immediately after the event, and consider any possible ulterior motives the priest may have.

2.2 Suspension of Sacrosanctity

When a priest uses a hostile religious action against a secular target citizens of that realm shall be exempted from prosecution for violation of sacrosanctity in the third degree only. There is an exception to this. If the noble arrests the priest with full knowledge that the realm's judge intends to execute them and the execution is carried out they shall be guilty of a violation of sacrosanctity in the second degree.

2.3 Rogue Priests

In addition, if the council believes a priest is not acting based on divine inspiration or in the interests of the church but rather out of personal gain, malice, mental or spiritual corruption, or otherwise malevolent motives, they may declare them rogue via a standard council vote. A rogue priest is stripped of all sacrosanctity."

Lord Commander of the Temple Guard

The Elder council approves the creation of a new elder rank "Lord Commander of the Temple Guard". Their duty is to oversee distribution of guards at our temples, increasing garrison numbers at temples that may be under threat and decreasing them at temples that are safe and have no need for them. Directly defending temples when necessary and possible would also be encouraged. The Lord Commander's authority will permit them to hire or fire temple guards, and enlarge temples in order to better defend them. Like other elders they must announce their intentions before taking official action and allow two days time for any objections.

The Lord Commander will be entitled to borrow up to 200 gold from the treasury and will receive a grant of 20 gold per month, with which to hire new guards. If these resources are insufficient they may request additional funds be deposited at a temple of their choice. Fulfilling such requests is at the discretion of any noble of the church who wishes to donate and no one is under any obligation to do so.

Though the Lord Commander holds elder rank they are not officially members of the Elder Council. They do not vote nor can they officially introduce a matter to vote upon. They may be asked to report to the council or offered the opportunity to contribute to discussions. The elder council is under no obligation to share any deliberations with the Lord Commander.

The Lord Commander shall be selected by the Prophetess. She shall do so by issuing a call for applicants and hand selecting the one she feels makes the strongest proposal. The council will then have two days to vote on the selected candidate. They may vote to approve, veto, or call for a period of deliberation. If two days pass without a vote from either elder this shall be considered a vote of "no objection" and the candidate shall be made Lord Commander.

The Lord Commander shall serve for life unless they resign or are dismissed. Dismissal of the Lord Commander shall be by vote of the Elder council. When voting the council shall state if they are being dismissed honorably or dishonorably. When the post of Lord Commander becomes vacant it is at the Prophetess' discretion whether or not to appoint a new one.