Sanguis Astroism/Charter

Charter notes.

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 1: Structure of the Church

Elders:

  Arbiter of the Stars
     Council of Three:
        Light
        Archon
        Consul
          Guardian of the Faith
          Luminary
          Protector of The Church
          Archiver of the Stars
             Membership:
                    Knight Stalwart
                    Knight of the Temple
                    Knight of the Faith
                    Knight Penitent
                    Sheriff
                   Aspirant (would be promoted at the earliest opportunity)

Article 1 a. Arbiter of the Stars: The Arbiter of the Stars is entrusted with the main duty of protecting the Church from anyone who would try to harm or destroy the Church from all enemies within or without. The Arbiter also has the ability to censure any member who is found guilty of wrongful actions against the Church or faithful of the Church. They only have a vote in Elder affairs in the case of a tie, or as a veto if the actions of the Elders are deemed detrimental to the faith. The Arbiter of the Stars is a permanent position.

Article 1 b. Council of Three:

Light: The Light is entrusted with the duty of Church growth and overseeing the priesthood. The Light will organize missionary missions and recruit members to become priests. The Light has one vote in all Elder affairs, including any revision of the Charter, censuring members, and any other matters that come before the Elder Council of Three.

Archon: The Archon is entrusted with the duty of protection of the Church from any armed force threatening the Faith and mediation between realms with a Sanguis Astroism presence. If the need for a Crusade should arise, the Archon will lead the Holy Army into war. The Archon will also supervise any Militant Orders within the Church. The Archon has one vote in all Elder affairs, including any revision of the Charter, censuring members, and any other matters that come before the Elder Council of Three.                      

Consul: The Consul is entrusted with the care of temples and the lay members of the Church. The Consul is tasked with making reports to the full members of the decisions of the Elders and bringing concerns and requests from the members to the Council of Three. The Consul has one vote in all Elder affairs, including any revision of the Charter, censuring members, and any other matters that come before the Elder Council of Three.

Article 1 c. Guardian of the Faith:

The Guardian of the Faith is an advisory position only. The Guardian of the Faith is entrusted with advising the Council of Three and the Arbiter on matters concerning the Charter and its interpretation. The Guardian will also advise the Arbiter in matters that are vetoed and punishments for those who are censured. The Guardian of the Faith is not a voting member of the Elders.

==Article 2 Code of Conduct==

Article 2 a. Elders: Church and Realm must remain separate. The Elders must be held to a higher standard than the faithful members of the Church. Honor, integrity, dedication to our beliefs and commitment to stand up for those beliefs, as well as diligence in our duties both to the Church and our realms should be paramount. Political and personal arguments are not to be discussed within the Council of Three. In public, only the greatest of respect for the other Elders must be shown. To the faithful, the Elders must show a unified front to maintain the trust of the members of the Church. Within the Council of Three, discussion must be able to take place that might not necessarily want to be discussed outside of the Council of Three. Matters decided by the Elders will be announced to all Full members.

Article 2 b. All members: All ranks represent Sanguis Astrum and are expected to respect the church to the fullest. This means, all Faithful followers must not speak against Sanguis Astroism or tarnish the image of the church in any way and follow all procedures and policies in place. Any issues an individual has within the church may be discussed with all full members and brought to the attention of the Elders to find suitable solutions. Writing to all members of the Church should be done sparingly. Before writing to all members, ask yourself if it is something everyone needs and/or would want to know. The purpose of the rank Knight of the Faith is to still serve the church as if they were a Knight of the Temple without all the general messages and all of us must respect that. Any Knight of the Faith bothered by discussion to all members should speak up so that everyone can restrict their discussion to full members only.

Article 2 c. Full members: If a full member has a dispute with an individual, faction, or state of the church and both can’t resolve the issues themselves then the issue may be brought to the attention of the Elders only if it is related to the church. Any issue brought to the elder council that does not concern the church does not have to be mediated by the Elders. If a Knight of the Faith feels they are limited by their rank, then they may at any time request the Elder Council to promote them to the full member rank of Knight of the Temple. Any Knight of the Temple that wants their opinion heard must make the effort to speak to all full members or elders and shouldn't expect other members to actively seek them out.

Article 2 d. Aspirants: Aspirants only have a responsibility to themselves and are not obligated to promote the church any more than what they feel they should do individually. Any aspirant can help and are encouraged to act in the best interest of the church.

Article 3: Voting in the Council of Three:== The general principle we will follow is The Council of Three makes all important decisions and those decisions must be collective. Each member gets 1 vote, and all decisions require a 2/3 majority to pass.

Article 3 a. Veto by Arbiter of the Stars: The Arbiter of the Stars has the authority to veto any motion passed by the Council of Three if it is deemed to be a detriment to the church.

Article 4: Voting for Council of Three members:==

Article 4a. Archon: The Archon(s) shall be the elected ruler of an established Theocracy. Their placement is automatic by winning the election within their realm. As soon as the results of the election are known, the Arbiter of the Stars shall make any necessary demotions and promotions for the Council of Three.

Article 4b. Light: The Light must be a priest and is elected by the priests of the faith. Elections for Light are held every 2 years (OOC: 6 real life months) beginning on the first day of spring. Should the Light office become vacant, a special mid-term election will be held to fill the vacancy. The vote will be held for 3 days. Each priest gets 1 vote and the priest with the most votes is elected Light. The Arbiter will tally the votes and make the necessary demotions and promotions for the Council of Three.

Article 4c. Consul: The Consul is a full lay member in good standing in the Church. Elections for Consul are held every 2 years (OOC: 6 real life months) beginning on the first day of spring. Should the Consul office become vacant, a special mid-term election will be held to fill the vacancy. The vote will be held for 3 days. Each full member gets 1 vote and the candidate with the most votes is elected Consul. The Arbiter will tally the votes and make the necessary demotions and promotions for the Council of Three.

Article 5 Non-voting Elders: These ranks are for Committed nobles to assist the members of the Council of Three and The Arbiter. They shall function as advisors to the Council of Three and the Arbiter. They cannot present a motion or vote for or against any motion. 5a Luminary The Luminary is a non-voting rank, their purpose is to help the Light with any tasks needed, They shall be priests appointed to the Elders for any reason by a vote of the voting Elders, requiring a simple majority to pass. 5b Protector of The Church The Protector of The Church is a non-voting rank, their purpose is to help the Archon with any tasks needed, they shall be the head of the Warders of the Temple and under the supervision of the current Archon.

5c Guardian of the Faith

The Guardian of the Faith is a non-voting rank, their purpose is to help the Consul with any tasks needed. This rank is appointed by vote of the Council of Three. 5d Archiver of the Stars The Archiver of the Stars is a non-voting rank, their purpose is to aid the Arbiter with chronicling any relevant events within the Church and the Council of Three. The Archiver will also perform any tasks needed by the Arbiter of the Stars. This rank is appointed by vote of the Council of Three.

Article 6 Chartering a New Order: In order to become an officially chartered Order of Sanguis Astroism, the prospective Order must present an official charter to the Arbiter of the Stars. Each Order must have a sponsor among the Elders. The organization will choose the sponsor. Valid sponsors are one of the Council of Three of Sanguis Astroism. The Arbiter cannot sponsor an Order and has no vote in the approval of any order. The sponsoring Elder must be indicated in the charter and changing it in the future requires an amendment to the charter. The charter of the proposed order must be submitted to the Arbiter along with the plan for member structure and if possible the names of the faithful who will be involved in the Order. Each chartered Order must have a specific purpose. This purpose must be detailed in the charter. 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 guild houses, 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 guild house and thus found the Order must be provided, along with the names of five nobles willing to join the Order as its initial membership. Once all of the required documents have been submitted to the Arbiter, the Arbiter will propose a motion to accept the Order. The Elders will vote on whether or not to accept the Order as an officially chartered Order. A two thirds majority is required to allow the creation of any Order. Once the  Order is officially recognized, any amendments to the charter must be approved in the same manner as the original charter.

Article 6a CHARTER OF THE HOLY ORDER OF THE WARDERS OF THE TEMPLE: I. PURPOSE AND PURVIEW The Holy Order of the Warders of the Temple is the official militant order of the Church of Sanguis Astroism whose purpose is to defend the Faith in military capacity whenever that is required. The Warders are the valiant guardians of all Church properties, which include temples, shrines, and holy relics of the Church, but also Church members and officials. Should any property of the Holy Church come under attack from external or internal threat, regardless of whether this property is material or spiritual in nature, the Warders of the Temple will rally and rise to protect the Church and the Faith. The Warders are sponsored and commanded by the Archon of the Church and are charged with acting on behalf of the Church of Sanguis Astroism. The Archon charges the Warders with various objectives after receiving the blessings of the Council of the Three. Since the Warders are the Order of the Church any operations that are strictly secular in nature are forbidden. II. STRUCTURE OF THE ORDER Archon (elder rank) Grandmaster (elder rank) Ordermarshal (elder rank) Crimson Inquisitor (full member rank) Order Representative (full member rank) Knight Champion (full member rank) Knight Guardian (full member rank) Knight Apprentice (aspirant rank) A) ELDER RANKS ARCHON Sponsors and commands the Holy Order in the name of the Council of the Three. The Archon bears the highest responsibility for all Warder actions and deeds. The role of the Archon is filled by whoever rises as a ruler of a theocracy of the Church of Sanguis Astroism. GRANDMASTER Leader of the Order, charged with its functional operations and aggrandizement of its ranks and estates. The only electable position of the Order. ORDERMARSHAL Military leaders of the Order. Marshal of Warder army, chosen by the Grandmaster. The Ordermarshal is in charge of exerting the will the Grandmaster, Archon and the Council of the Three via military means.

B) FULL MEMBERS CRIMSON INQUISITOR Guardian of the purity of Faith and religious teachings. His duties are to battle heresy. ORDER REPRESENTATIVE A representative of the Order. He is charged with seeking new members across Dwilight and representing the Order. He also acts as liaison with those of common stock. KNIGHT CHAMPION Highly distinguished warrior of the Order that has proven his mettle in battle. He acts as a duelist in case honor of the Warders is being challenged. KNIGHT GUARDIAN Knights that fill the ranks of majority of Warder armies and represent the backbone of the Order. C) ASPIRANTS KNIGHT APPRENTICE Knights that need to prove their worth and convictions before they are promoted to full membership. These knights are usually given a quest to perform before their promotion. III. ELECTIONS All ranks of the Order are appointed except the rank of the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster is elected via public voting of all members of the Order only once, with simple majority required, and serves for a lifetime. If the Grandmaster is failing in his duties a vote of no confidence can be called for by any member of the Order, provided he or she has the written support of at least two additional members of the Order.

Previous Charter Documents and Proposals

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.

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

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