Sanguis Astroism/Charter/Pre-Severine Charter

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This was the final version of the charter before the council put into place Severina's dramatically simplified charter.

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 the Three:
      Light(s) No more than 3.
      Archon(s) 
      Consul(s) Number equal to the number of Archons or Praetors
      Luminary(s)
       Guardian of the Faith      
       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 the 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. Each 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 (the) 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. (Each) 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 the 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 the Three. Each 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 (the) Three.

Article 1 c. Guardian of the Faith The Guardian of the Faith is an advisory position only and is not a voting member of the Elders. This rank can be held by lay members only. The Guardian of the Faith is entrusted with advising the Council of (the) 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 upon punishments for those who are censured.

Article 1 d. Protector of the Faith The Protector of the Faith is an advisory position only and is not a voting member of the Elders. This rank can be held by lay members only. The Protector of the Faith is entrusted with advising the Council of (the) Three and the Arbiter on matters concerning entities intent on causing the Church harm. The Protector leads the Warders of the Temple which is the warrior protectors of Sanguis Astroism. The Protector will also advise the Arbiter in matters that are seen as reason for a Crusade.

Article 1 e. Archivist of the Stars The Archivist of the Stars is an advisory position only and is not a voting member of the Elders. This rank can be held by lay members only. The Archivist of the Stars is entrusted with keeping a record of the decisions of the Council of (the) Three and the Arbiter on all matters concerning the Church. The Archivist will make sure all items in the Archives are available to all members of the Faith. The Archivist will also advise the Arbiter in matters where a member has incorrectly sited past events as proof of the validity of current actions.

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 (the) 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(the) Three, discussion must be able to take place that might not necessarily want to be discussed outside of the Council of (the) 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 cannot 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 should not 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 the Three The general principle we will follow is The Council of the Three makes all important decisions and those decisions must be collective. Each member gets one 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 the Three if it is deemed to be a detriment to the church.

Article 4: Voting for Council of the 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 the Three. Praetors may also be chosen from a non-theocratic realm if there are no theocracies to provide an Archon. 

  1)If the Sovereign is a full member in good standing in Sanguis Astroism and:
  1a) Has a Priest Noble member of their Realm for more than 2 seasons,
  1b) Can be voted in as Archon by the full Membership, except,
  1b) If the Priest of their realm ceases being a Priest while the Sovereign is the Archon,
  1c) The Archon loses the seat and an immediate vote taken again, unless,
  1d) There is only one other Sovereign with an active Priest, which then,
  1e) Automatically, that Sovereign becomes the Archon by default.
  1f) There is at least one other member in the realm besides the ruler and priest.

Article 4b. Light The Light(s) 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 the Three.

Article 4c. Consul The Consul(s) 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 the Three. There should be an equal number of Archons and Consuls.

Article 5: Non-voting Elders These ranks are for Committed Nobles to assist the members of the Council of the Three and The Arbiter. They shall function as advisors to the Council of the Three and the Arbiter. They cannot present a motion or vote for or against any motion. 

  5a Luminary(s) 
       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. 
  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.
       This rank can be held by lay members only.
       They shall be the head of the Warders of the Temple and under the supervision of the current Archon.
       This rank can be held by lay members only.
  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 can be held by lay members only.
  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 the Three.
       The Archiver will also perform any tasks needed by the Arbiter of the Stars. 
       This rank can be held by lay members only.

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 the 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 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 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.

Structure of the Order Archon (elder rank), Grandmaster (elder rank), Order marshal (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),

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 Order marshal is in charge of exerting the will the Grandmaster, Archon and the Council of the Three via military means.

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.

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.

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.

Article 7: Crusade The Arbiter of the Stars is responsible for the declaration of Holy Crusades. Any petition of a crusade will be sent to be debated in the Elders before the Arbiter of the Stars reaches the final decision. The Arbiter will then announce the Crusade to the Church and the realm(s) involved.

7a. Acceptable Reasons for calling a Crusade A direct attack made on the Church or any member in good standing by a non-believing realm or entity. 7b. Stated goals of the Crusade Because a Crusade is the Holy version of a war, there must be a declaration of the Crusade goals.

These goals must be:

Attainable: The goal must be something that is actually possible. Measurable: It has to be possible for everyone to determine when the goal has been met. Concise: The goal has to be something specific. 7c. Prohibition of Crusades Against the Faithful Crusades shall not be declared against the faithful of this Church save in cases where the Church itself is in danger. Crusades against the faithful are a serious matter and pose the danger of seriously damaging the Church. Crusades are meant to be waged against Heretics and Heathens. If a government is declared to be in good faith by the Church (meaning at the very least the ruler and a not insignificant minority of the nobles are of the faith and not excommunicated), no Crusade shall be waged against it. In cases of doubt: DO NOT DO IT.

Article 8a: Magistratum The Magistratum is a group of Elder members of the faith that sit in judgment of other followers during a trial. The procedure used by the Magistratum during a trial is as follows: The Accuser, which may be any full or Elder member of the church, must send a message to the Elders requesting a Magistratum trial. It must include the following: The identity of the Accuser The identity of the Accused. This may be a specific person, or a specific group of people. The charges to be considered. The charges must be of concern to the church and violate one of its rules or principles. Basic evidence that the charges are true. The Elders will consider the message and the Council of the Three will vote on whether a trial is warranted. Based on the following: That are the Accuser and Accused are clearly identified That the charges lay within the purview of the Church That the charges are important enough to be handled by the Magistratum and not some lower means of justice That the evidence has potential to sustain such a charge The vote will be managed by the Arbiter of the Stars. Guidelines for the vote are as follows: The vote will last no more than 2 days. The vote may be terminated immediately when enough Yes votes are accumulated, or when it becomes statistically impossible to gather enough Yes votes. Votes must be announced publicly to the Elder Council to be treated as a valid vote. Abstentions are not allowed and will not be recorded. Failing to register a valid Yes or No vote is considered not voting. The Council of Elders will announce the results of the vote. The announcement of the results of the vote shall be made to all members of the church by the Arbiter of the Stars. It should include the original accusation and a record of the vote. Should the trial be denied, a reason for the denial should be included.

The Makeup of the Magistratum A Magistratum shall be composed of a panel of three Magistrates, assigned to the Elder rank of Magistrate. It shall normally be composed as follows: The High Inquisitor of the realm of the Accuser, if they are a member of the Church The High Inquisitor of the realm of the Accused, if they are a member of the Church One other full member of the Church, to be selected by agreement among the Elders. The three Magistrates will be promoted to the rank of Magistrate for the duration of the trial. When the trial is complete, the Magistrates will be returned to their prior rank. The process of the Magistratum While the Magistratum trial is underway, there shall be no public discourse among the faithful regarding the affairs under investigation. Any noble who violates this rule may be temporarily demoted to an Aspirant rank for the duration of the trial, at which time they may be returned to their rightful rank. Any member of the Magistratum may request witnesses and/or evidence for specific items under consideration, from anyone. All facts and or commentary are to be sent to all the members of the Magistratum, not the Elder Council. At the end of the deliberations, the Magistratum will take a vote, to be administered by the Lead of the Magistratum. For trials involving multiple charges, each Magistrate must provide a vote on each individual charge. The vote will last no more than 2 days. The Arbiter of the Stars will announce the deadline. The vote may be terminated early if a unanimous verdict is reached. Abstentions are not allowed and will not be recorded. Failing to register a valid Guilty or Not Guilty vote is considered not voting. A guilty verdict will be announced if 2/3 of the votes are returned as Guilty. If the Magistratum reaches a Guilty verdict, then the Magistratum will also determine the penalty to deliver on the Accused. The Magistratum may impose any penalty desired upon the guilty party, saving only that Excommunication requires a unanimous verdict. The report of the votes and the reasoning should be sent to the entire Elder council. This should include the imposed penalty. In either case, Arbiter of the Stars will inform all church members of the decision of the Magistratum, the reasoning, if any, and the penalties, if any. The Arbiter of the Stars is charged with carrying out the judgment of the Magistratum.

This charter may be amended at any time if agreed upon by the Council of the Three.

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