Talk:Sanguis Astroism/Charter before Adam

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 I: The Justiciars

I. There should always be two Justiciars of the Elder Council. At least one of them must be a priest to preserve the priestly/secular balance in the Elder Council. If there is only one,then another must be appointed within a period of 4 weeks. There can never be more than two appointed. They hold the highest rank in the church. They are usually appointed by a previous Justiciar before he/she steps down. A Justiciar must be a mature, responsible, fair, active and intelligent individual. The Justiciars must be above church politics and so cannot vote in Elder Council, cannot hold any other Elder position, and should not campaign actively for any candidate for the Elder Council or any faction in the church. However they may give measured advice in council. They have a minor privilege, that they may appoint members to different church ranks, but their main function is as The Guardians of the Charter, responsible for making sure the charter is followed. Only the Justiciars are allowed to amend the charter with changes approved by the Elder Council. If any Elder, up to and including the Regent, does not obey the charter, then the justiciars can demote him down to any rank, initiating proceedings to replace him. Any church member can petition a justiciar about infringement of the charter or if they want a change in their rank. The justiciars are there to keep the 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 BOTH Justiciars agree that any church member is acting as an enemy of the church or trying to subvert the church from within, then the Justiciars have the power to discipline that member to any extent they think necessary.

Article II: The Elder Council

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

a. Two Justiciars - The Guardians of the church.

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

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 may be eligible.

g. Such number of Advisers as may be required.

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

IIb. Consuls - shall be non priests and shall be elected by all non priest full members of the church. Their term shall be 2 years. (OOC: 6 real life months)

IIc. Archons - The ruler of ANY realm can apply to be an Archon if he is a member of the church. 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 Justiciars who may deny him the post if they BOTH agree. To preserve the priest/secular balance in the Council, the Archon must either be a priest himself, or he must find a priest willing to join the Elder Council as an Adviser to him.

IId. Advisers - A non voting rank, used for any church member who needs to be attached to the Elder Council for a time.

Article III: Voting in the Elder Council

III. 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 Justiciars and Advisers who are not allowed to vote. 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 Corum required for a vote to be valid, is 3 Lights and 2 Consuls.

The voting process:

a. Any Elder, excluding Advisers, may propose a motion.

b. The proposal must be seconded by another Elder, excluding Advisers, 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 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.

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.

Amara's Proposed Amendment It is under Justiciars, a and b.