I Gazette (2011)

The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all. Amen.

We Christians, adherents of the Holy Bible, which is the Word of God, and desiring to ever promote the same, do deem ourselves in his service; preaching Christ, the Son of God, crucified and risen again for propitiation of the sins of the world. Thus clinging to His Cross, and thus endeavoring to spread His Word in the most effectual means possible, we knights seek to establish order and assemble ourselves to establish this Order of the Knights of the Cross.

To God be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Article I

Section I
The Organization shall be known as the Order of Knights of the Cross.

Section II
Words which implore the masculine gender include the feminine as well, and vice versa.

Article II

Section I

Clause I
Members of the Order of Knights of the Cross, henceforth to be known as “knights” or “dames”, shall be admitted to the order either by invitation by an existing knight or dame, or by request. Such prospect’s membership shall be voted upon in the Grand Chapter, and such membership shall be considered a Proposition for the purposes of the majority required by Article III, Section I, Clause III. If such membership is approved, the new knight shall be recognized by the Grand Chancellor and Seneschal.

Clause II
Should the Grand Chancellor and/or Seneschal object, for whatever reason, to the admission of the prospective knight, the question shall be put to the Grand Master, who will decide the matter, whether to accept or reject such membership based on the arguments for and against.

Clause III
The decision of the Grand Master to accept or reject a member may be overruled by a unanimous vote in the Grand Chapter.

Section II
No person shall be admitted who shall not have reached fifteen years of age, nor shall a person be admitted who does not profess the Holy Bible to be true in its entirety, and Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of the only true God, being the Savior, not only of himself, but of anyone who thus professes this belief, believing the same in his heart.

Article III

Section I

Clause I
The Grand Chapter, over which presides the Grand Chancellor, is a legislative body of three voting members. The Grand Chancellor shall moderate the Chapter's forum threads, but shall not have the right to introduce Propositions or vote in the Chapter, with due regard for Clause III and according to the norm of Clause IV of this Section.

Clause II
The membership of the Chapter is decided annually by Vote, according to the norm of Article V.

Clause III
Propositions shall be considered “passed” when two members of the Chapter vote “yea”. No member shall abstain, but shall vote either “yea” (for) or “nay” (against), save a leave of absence. In such case, the Grand Chancellor shall have extraordinary powers of suffrage if the Vote of the remaining members of the Chapter is a tie. If two or more members of the Chapter are on leave, the Chapter shall be considered in recess.

Clause IV
No knight who lacks membership in the Chapter shall introduce a Proposition, but all shall have the right to request a member of the Chapter to introduce their Proposition for them. No member of the Chapter shall be under any obligation to accept such request.

Clause V
With a unanimous Vote, the Grand Chapter may overturn a Grand Magisterial Veto.

Clause VI
With a unanimous Vote of No Confidence, and with the approval of the Grand Master (except when the Grand Master is the subject of No Confidence), the Chapter may depose any officer of the Order.

Clause VII
This Section shall take legal effect upon membership in the order of more than eight. Until such time, all members shall be considered members of the Chapter for the purpose of legislative discussion and voting.

Section II
The Grand Chapter may make laws governing itself and appoint persons to fulfill necessary duties as the need arises. This power shall include the regular appointment of persons to the permanent office of the Chancery, the officiant of which, the Clerk of the Grand Chapter, shall record and categorize passed propositions, which shall be posted in a place and manner as prescribed by Section III of this Article.

Section III

Clause I
When a Proposition has passed the required Vote, the Clerk of the Grand Chapter shall draw up an official document of such Proposition, to be published in the official Gazette.

Clause II
Such Gazette shall be a forum thread in the Chancery, wherein all Propositions passed, including Amendments to the present Charter, are published as legal evidence of the Law in effect. Each reply in such topic shall be a separate Proposition, whose title shall be posted in the space “Post title.”

Clause III
One Gazette shall be published annually, starting in 2012, with the 2011 Gazette being only half a year. The 2011 Gazette shall be called the “I Gazette”, the 2012 Gazette shall be called the “II Gazette”, and so forth.

Clause IV
If a Proposition fails the required Vote, including a failed Veto overturn, such Proposition shall be published as a historical record in the Journal, to be published as a topic in the Chancery in the same way as the Gazette, in accord with Clauses II and III of this Section.

Clause V
The office of the Clerk of the Grand Chapter shall be called the Chancery.

Article IV

Section I
Executive power, whereby propositions are approved and membership disputes are resolved, is exercised by the Grand Master.

Section II
No Proposition passed in accord with Article III, Section I, Clause III shall be considered Law unless promulgated by the Grand Master, with due regard for the provisions of Article III, Section I, Clause V.

Article V

Section I

Clause I
The positions of Grand Master, Grand Commander, Grand Chancellor, Seneschal, Grand Hospitaller, and Members of the Grand Chapter shall be put to an annual Vote.

Clause II
No person may hold or run for more than one position per term.

Section II

All members validly accepted according to the norm of Article II shall have the right to vote for only one person in each position per election.

Article VI

Section I

Clause I
Members of the Order being a part of one denomination of the Christian Faith may organize into a Brotherhood. These Brotherhoods shall work to further the Order's goals through actions in their own church and shall be charged with political and legal defense of their members.

Clause II
Each Brotherhood is to be administered by a Marshal, who shall be elected yearly by the members of the Brotherhood. Brotherhoods shall be free to organize their own hierarchy (other than the Marshal) as they see fit. Brotherhoods are also free to administer their own awards.

Clause III
Brotherhoods may propose and pass their own statutes, so long as these do not conflict with the laws and goals of the Order as a whole.

Section II

Clause I
Members of the Order in any one nation (excluding the entities commonly considered "micronations") shall be organized into a Chapter (i.e. the United States Chapter), which shall organize the activities of the Order in that nation.

Clause II
Chapters are to be led by a Visitor, who is to be elected yearly. The Visitor shall act as the main liaison between the Order and his respective nation. The National Chapter of any one nation may choose to develop lower entities (i.e. State/Provincial/Regional Chapters, City Chapters, County Chapters, etc.) and their respective administrative officials as it sees fit.

Article VII

Section I

Clause I
The executive officials of the Order shall be the Grand Master, Grand Commander, Grand Chancellor, Grand Hospitaller, and Seneschal. The Grand Master shall preside over the others in regard to Article IV, Section I.

Clause II
In the event of the untimely death of the current Grand Master or his inability to serve in his official capacities due to illness or injury, the order of succession shall be: the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller, the Seneschal, the Members of the Grand Chapter from the oldest, the Marshals of the Brotherhoods starting with the Brotherhood that has the most members, and the Visitors of the National Chapters starting with the Chapter that has the most members.

Clause III
Should the event(s) outlined in Article VII, Section I, Clause II occur, the members shall cast votes for a new Grand Master and any other officials within a month after said event(s).

Section II

Clause I
The Grand Master of the Order shall represent the Order and uphold the Charter in internal and external capacities. He shall hold final authority on questions of membership, legality, and all other aspects of the Order's administration, with regard to Article III, Section I, Clause V.

Clause II
The Grand Commander of the Order shall be charged with the defense of members and assets of the Order in both military and legal capacities. Due to the Order's peaceful nature, this position shall be mostly ceremonial.

Clause III
The Grand Chancellor of the Order shall represent the Order in matters of state and shall preside over the Grand Chapter, as per Article III, Section I, Clause I. The Grand Chancellor shall also be given charge of public relations and the Order's press.

Clause IV
The Grand Hospitaller of the Order shall organize and oversee all Order-initiated charities, volunteer work, and humanitarian service. He shall also be charged with the defense of human rights of the members of the Order and those granted Order asylum.

Clause V
The Seneschal of the Order shall manage all Order funds, collateral, territorial holdings, and economic activities. He is charged with maintaining an Order budget, managing all Order money and property, and encouraging successful marketing.

FINAL DOXOLOGY:
May the Lord God bless this Charter and the Holy Order that it governs. May He guide our actions and decisions, and may His Glory be evident in whatever we do. This we ask in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.