Sanguis Astroism/Militant Orders

Militant Orders

The Militant Orders are organizations of knights and priests who have sworn an oath to carry out the purpose of the Order. Orders may have any sort of purpose, contingent on approval from the Council of Elders. Officially chartered Militant Orders are each sponsored by one of the Elders, to whose office they are directly answerable. Only Lights, Luminaries and the Regent may sponsor Orders. Consuls may not do so.

Membership

• All members of a chartered Militant Order must be members of Sanguis Astroism.
• Militant Orders may set additional requirements for entry into their ranks. If any such requirements exist they will be be written into the Order's official charter.
• All Militant Orders have an official oath that binds prospective members to carry out the Order's purpose. All nobles joining the Order must publicly take this oath before all members of the church.

Authority

• As a Militant Order is an officially recognized arm of the church, all actions taken on behalf of a Militant Order are therefore actions taken on behalf of Sanguis Astroism.
• Actions taken within a Militant Organization are subject to the rules and principles of Sanguis Astroism, unless prior special dispensation is acquired by the Order, to be granted only by a vote of the Council of Elders in which at least six Elders vote in the affirmative.
• Ultimate authority over all Militant Orders lies with the Holy Prophet and the Regent. The Elder who is the sponsor of a Militant Order has the next highest authority. Under that is the rank structure of the Order itself.
• The Order's sponsor must be an Elder of the Militant Order. The Sponsor should be Rank 2 in the Order.
  • If the noble holding the sponsor's office changes, then the order must promote/demote as necessary to place the new sponsor in Rank 2.
• All disciplinary problems within an Order should be handled within the Order whenever possible.
  • Should it prove to be impossible to work out the problems within the Order, or the actions taken to work out the problem deemed unsatisfactory by the church, then the matter may be brought before the Elders.
• Militant Orders are subject to Magistratum authority, and may be the target of a Magistratum investigation and trial.
• As a final extreme, the Council of Elders may revoke the charter of any Militant Order that has strayed from its path and no longer recognizes the church's authority, as embodied by the Holy prophet, the Regent and the Order's sponsor. Six of the Elders must concur in order to do this.

A further note on the role of the Sponsor, from Regent Brance:

The Elder sponsor of the Order is an advisor to the Order, and a monitor on the conduct of the Order. The Sponsor is a direct representative of the Church, and not in overall command of the Order. The noble who founded the Order, or who is placed in command of the Order by that founder, should be the one who retains control of and responsibility for the Order and its conduct. They must answer to the Sponsor of the Order for the conduct of the Order members, and for the fulfillment of the provisions of their Charter.

It is not intended that a Sponsor micromanage the day to day affairs of an Order, only that they ensure that the Order remains in compliance with the terms of its charter and does not do anything that would be considered detrimental to the church as a whole. If an Order wishes to be under the direct control of an Elder or Elders, they may craft their charter accordingly.

Existing Orders

The Warders of the Temple

• Sponsored by the Light of the Maddening

Former Orders

The Order of the Palm - Was tasked with spreading the Faith throughout Dwilight. This Order fell into disuse, and was eventually disbanded.

• Sponsored by the Light of Auspicious

Chartering a New Order

• In order to become an officially chartered Order, the prospective Order must present an official charter to the church.
  • If the Order already exists and only seeks to be officially chartered, then its full membership, including its founder and the location of all its guildhouses, must be provided as part of the application process.
  • If the order does not yet exist, then the name of the lord who will construct the first guildhouse and thus found the Order must be provided, along with the names of five nobles willing to join the Order as its initial membership.
• Each Order must have a sponsor among the Elders. The organization will choose the sponsor. Valid sponsors are the Regent, one of the three Lights, or one of the three Luminaries. The sponsoring office must be indicated in the charter, and changing it in the future requires an amendment to the charter.
• Each chartered Order must have a specific purpose. This purpose must be detailed in the charter.
• The Elders will vote on whether or not to accept the Order as an officially chartered Order. At least six Elders must vote in the affirmative for the vote to pass.
• Once the Militant Order is officially recognized, any amendments to the charter must be approved in the same manner as the original charter.