Sevastian's Editing for Clarity

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 Justiciars

I. Justiciar is the highest rank of the church. There shall at all times be two, no more, no less. A minimum of one Justiciar is required to be a priest, in order to maintain the balance of the Elder Council. Should a Justiciar abdicate office, a second must be appointed within a period of four weeks. Candidates for Justiciar must be an active, contributing member in good standing with the faith for a period of no less than six months. Should an eligible candidate not be found, the Lights may waive this requirement, or refrain from making an appointment until a suitable candidate can be found. The Justiciars are appointed by a vote of the Lights.

Justiciars are required to be an impartial, and active individual within the Church, and must have an in depth understanding of the Charter, for it is the duty of the Justiciars to the enforce the Charter and the will of the Elder Council. Only Justiciars are allowed to amend the Charter with the changes approved by the Elder Council. If any member of the Church, particularily Elder Council members, are found to be disobeying the charter, the Justiciars may then hold a vote to have the offending member demoted, and if applicable, replaced. Such action requires the vote of both Justiciars. Justiciars are also responsible for appointing members of the faith to their appropriate ranks. Any member of the Church is free to petition the Justiciars if they feel the Charter is being violated, or if they require a change in rank.

Justiciars, being guardians of the Charter and intended to prevent abuses of power, are therefore forbidden from holding any other office on the Elder Council. Justiciars are to be neutral and impartial, and are therefore not permitted to vote on the Elder Council, nor are they permitted to campaign for any candidate, faction, or issue within the Church. They are however, expected to provide measured and impartial advice in council.

Article II: The Elder Council

II. The Elder Council of the church is the supreme ruling body of the Church. All members, unless specifically annotated within their roles, receive 1 vote on all matters related to the Elder Council. The Elder Council is made up of the following members:

a. Two Justiciars - as covered in Article I, enforcers of the Charter. Justiciars may not vote.

b. The Light of the Austere Star - A Priest role with special responsibility for Church Finance, and responsible for administering elections within the Church.

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

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

e. Two Consuls - Non Priests - Representatives of the Lay members of the church.

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

g. Such number of Luminaries as may be required. Luminaries may not vote.

IIa. Lights - shall be priests and shall be elected by all the priests of the church (excluding Justiciars). Their term shall be 2 years. (OOC: 6 real life months)

IIb. 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, limit 1 consul per realm. Their term shall be 2 years. (OOC: 6 real life months)

IIc. Archons - The ruler of a theocracy of the faith is to be granted a seat on the Elder Council and the rank of Archon, unless significant cause is established by the Justiciars and/or the Elder Council to deny them their seat.

IId. Luminaries - A non voting priest rank, used to appoint priests temporarily to the elder Council, for advisory purposes or to maintain the priest/secular balance in the Council.

Article III: Voting in the Elder Council

III. Voting Margins Amending the Charter, and declaring a Crusade, requires a 2/3rds absolute majority vote of the full Elder Council. All other decisions require a simple majority to pass.

The voting process:

a. Any Elder with voting privileges, may propose a motion.

b. The proposal must be seconded by another Elder with voting privileges, 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 if they have voting rights.

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

Article IV: Consuls, and Consul Elections

IV. 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 two candidates who get the 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 V: Lights, and Elections for Lights

V. 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.

Va. 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. Furthermore, the Light of the Austere is by default, responsible for running elections of the faith and within the Elder Council.

Vb. 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.

Vc. 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. All Priests of 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.

c. There will be a three day candidacy period for priests to announce their candidacy, beginning on the first day of Spring. At the end of this, the three day voting period will commence. Votes received after this period will be discarded. The whole process should therefore take 6 days.

d. At the end, the votes are totaled, and 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.

e. 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 VI: Luminaries

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

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

C. If the Priest/Secular balance is unable to be maintained to the point where a Consul or Archon is unable to take their seat on the Elder Council, the Lights are required to appoint enough Luminaries to allow for the Consuls and Archons to take their seats. If the Lights are unable to agree on a sufficient number of candidates, the Justiciars then must appoint individuals until the balance is restored.