Sanguis Astroism/Charter/The Turin Charter

The Sanguis Astroism Charter as developed during the time of Lights Turin, Rosdan, Katrina, and Obelix, after the removal of the Justiciars.

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 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: The Elder Council

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

Voting Members

a. The Light of the Austere Star - A Priest role with special responsibility for Church Finance.

b. The Light of the Auspicious Star - A Priest role with special responsibility for Church External affairs.

c. The Light of the Maddening Star - A Priest role with special responsibility for Church Security.

d. Such number of Archons (Rulers) as there are theocracies of the faith.

e. Such number of Consuls as there are Archons - Non Priests - Representatives of the Lay members of the church.

There must be at least 2 lay members to complete the Quorum. If no Archons exist then 2 Consuls can serve to complete the Quorum.

Non Voting Members

f. Such number of Luminaries as may be required for special circumstances.

Ia. Lights - shall be priests and shall be elected by all the priests of the church from the ranks of the elected Luminaries when possible. Their term shall be 2 years. (OOC: 6 real life months)

Ib. Archons - The ruler of a theocracy of the faith only can apply to be an Archon. This right is automatic and can only be denied if there are excellent grounds to think that he might act as an enemy of the church, in which case the matter can be referred to the Lights who may deny him the post if two or more agree. The Archon need not be a priest, but if his appointment would breach the priest/secular balance in the Council, then the Archon must either become a priest himself, or a priest Luminary must be appointed to the Elder Council to maintain the balance.

Ic. Consuls - Shall be non priests, shall be elected by all non priest full members of the church and must not be from a theocracy of the faith. Their term shall be 2 years. (OOC: 6 real life months)

Id. Luminaries - A non voting rank, shall be priests appointed to the Elder Council for any reason. They can be promoted by two Lights or a vote of the Elder Council requiring a simple majority to pass.

Article II: Voting in the Elder Council

II. The general principle we will follow is that The Elder Council is supreme and all important decisions must be collective. All Council members get 1 vote except for the Luminairies who are not allowed to vote. Amending the Charter, declaring a Crusade, overriding a decree of two or more Lights, or the censure/removal of a fellow voting Elder via a council vote (as opposed to an action by the college of lights) requires a 2/3rds absolute majority vote of the full Elder Council. All other decisions including the censure/removal of a Luminary require a simple majority to pass. The Quorum required for a vote to be initiated, is 3 Lights and 2 laymembers. Once initiated any vote will proceed unless voluntarily withdrawn by the person who initially introduced it. This holds even if a consul or light should leave the council during the voting process resulting in the loss of a full Quorum. This prevents anyone from strategically resigning as an obstructionist tactic. In the event of a major disagreement, a referendum to include all full members can be used as a solution to make final decisions.

The voting process:

a. Any Voting Elder may propose a motion.

b. The proposal must be seconded by another Voting Elder before a vote can occur.

c. Once seconded, a four day discussion period will begin, during which the matter can be debated and votes counted. The proposer and seconder automatically vote for the motion.

d. After the four day discussion period, the result is announced.

Article III: Consuls, and Consul Elections

III. The Consuls are Lay members of the church (Non Priests) who are elected by the Lay members of the church. The duty of the office of the Consuls is to represent the desires and needs of the Lay membership of the Church, to the Elder Council, regardless of nationality or politics or ecclesiastical authority.

The election process:

a. Regular Elections for Consuls are held every 2 years (OOC: 6 real life months). They begin on the first day of spring.

b. All non-priest Full members of the church are allowed to vote. Each full member of the church may vote for a single candidate, who will receive a single vote. The candidate(s) who get most votes are elected.

c. There will be a five day candidacy period for nobles to announce their candidacy, beginning on the first day of Spring. At the end of this, the five day voting period will commence. Votes received after this period will be discarded.

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 two voted nobles, the one with the most votes will be selected. The others will be passed over, and another selected.

e. Should a Consul office become vacant, a special mid-term election will be held to fill the vacancy. 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.

Article IV: Lights, and Elections for Lights

IV. The Lights of the Church are Priests who are elevated to that rank upon election by the Priests of the church. They represent the Priestly authority of the Church to the Elder Council. Lights are the guardians of the charter. Only the Lights can amend the charter with changes approved by the Elder Council. If an elder does not obey the charter, then the Lights can demote them down to any rank and initiate proceedings for a replacement. Any church member can petition a Light about infringement of the charter. Any church member may ask the Lights about a change in their rank. The Lights are there to keep the Elder Council honest, stop usurpers from seizing power, and stop malicious attacks on the church from within. In their role as guardians of the church, if two or more Lights agree that a church member is acting as an enemy of the church or trying to subvert the church from within, then the Lights have the power to discipline that member to any extent they think necessary.

IVa. The Light of the Austere - is responsible for the Finance of the church, ie 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 or closure of old ones. He is also to monitor the global treasury and to raise money from the nobility if more funds are needed.

IVb. The Light of the Auspicious - is responsible for External affairs. He directs 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. Furthermore, in the practice of the Open Hand, the Light of the Auspicious shall attend to such Diplomatic and Secular matters as include the church as an interested party.

IVc. The Light of the Maddening - is responsible for the Security of the church. When the faith is threatened, it is his duty, 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.

The election process:

a. Regular Elections for Lights are held every 2 years (OOC: 6 real life months) beginning on the first day of spring.

b. Those Priests who have worn the cloth for at least 1 year (OOC: 3 real life months) in the church get a maximum of 3 votes. Their First vote counts for 4 points, Their second vote for 2 points, and their third vote for 1 point. If there are insufficient priests that fit the criterion then the Elder Council may waive these requirements on a simple majority vote.

c. There will be a three day candidacy period for priests to announce their candidacy, beginning on the first day of Spring. Only Lights or Luminaries may run for a Light position. Candidates must have been an active and contributing priest of Sanguis Astroism for a period of at least 2 years (OOC: 6 real life months). If there are insufficient candidates that fit the criterion then the Elder Council may wave these requirements on a simple majority vote.

d. There will be a three day voting period with votes sent to the Elder Council. Votes received after this period will be discarded. The whole process should therefore take 6 days.

e. The votes will be tabulated by one Archon and one Consul who will compare their totals before publishing the final results to the Full Church.

f. The priest with most votes can choose the Light office he wants (Austere, Auspicious or Maddening). Then the candidate with the next highest number of votes can choose from the remaining two offices. Then the candidate with the next highest number of votes gets the remaining office. Tied votes should preferably be settled by agreement between the two candidates. If they cannot agree then there will be a second round of voting, lasting 2 days, to resolve the tie with all priests voting with 1 vote each.

g. Should a Light office become vacant, a special mid-term election will be held to fill the vacancy. This will be an abbreviated election period. There will be a two-day period to announce candidacy, and a two-day election period. During this special election, each priest of the church may vote for a single candidate, who will receive a single vote. The newly elected Light will serve the remainder of the abbreviated term. The next Light elections will be held on the normal schedule.

Article V: Luminaries

a. Luminaries can be appointed to, or demoted from, the Elder Council at any time. There can be any number of Luminaries.

b. A Luminary must be a priest rank. It is a non voting, advisory rank, and its most often used to preserve the priest/secular balance in the Council.

c. It takes 2 Lights or a simple majority vote of the Elder Council to appoint or demote a Luminary.

d. If a Luminary needs to be appointed to allow an Archon to take his seat in the Elder Council, then either the Archon must become a priest or the Lights or the Elder Council MUST agree to a new Luminary.

Article VI: Full Membership

Full membership shall include all members of the church above the rank of Knight Penitent as well as Knights of the Faith. The rank of Knight of the Faith exists so that those who wish to limit their daily message traffic may still enjoy the full rights and privileges of being a practicing Astroist. Though privy to full member traffic Knights Penitent are undergoing atonement and so may not vote or run for office until their penalty is complete, thus they cannot be considered full members.

Previous Charter Documents and Proposals

First Post Justiciar Charter

The Charter after the Justiciar rank was removed.

Luminary Merger Proposal

The proposal to merge the Luminary and Luminary Assistant ranks in the Elder Council.

The Helm Charter

The Charter during Helm's time as Justiciar.

Second Major Revision

The second Major revision which was superseded by Helm's & Alaster's emergency powers reforms.

First Major Revision

The first Major revision which was superseded by Helm's reforms.

Helm's Proposal

Helms's proposed changes to the current charter.

Brance's Proposal

Brance's proposed revised version of the Old Charter.

Eoghan 's Proposal

Compiled by Eoghan Ofaolain, proposed revision of the Old Charter.

Old Charter

The Old Charter under which Sanguis Astroism was governed for many years.

Sevastian's Proposal

First proposal considered after the position of Justiciar has been discontinued.