Welcome to the Supplemental Initiate Program. This is a series of lessons you may complete while you get to know our Training Masters. The SIP is a series of essays built around what the Temple considers to be the values of a knight. After you finish each essay, you are to have a follow up discussion about the essay topic with a knight and the knight will post that conversation in your degree journal. We would prefer that each lesson discussion be with a different knight, however it is not a requirement. The idea is to get you conversing with different potential Training Master to see if you click well with one more than another.
Before you begin, you should start by creating a new journal. This will be called (Your Screenname)’s degree journal and this journal should be posted in the forum linked below.
https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Degree-Journals
For your first 750 word essay we would like to ask you the following questions. What are Values? Where do they come from? What are their complementary qualities, and where is the balance?
The rest of your SIP will be essays about the following list of topics. We do NOT want a book definition or to know what anyone else thinks about these topics. We are in search of your inner thoughts and the meaning you personally find in each one. Please Feel free to give any personal examples of ways these values have helped or hindered you in your life. These essays are to be 750 words each and followed by a discussion with a knight for each one.
The Topics are:
Leadership
Duty (to yourself and to others)
Responsibility
Service
Honor
Integrity
Courage
Compassion
Spirit
Acceptance/Tolerance
Self Reflection
If you have any questions please reach out to our Supplemental Initiate Program Administrator, Senior Knight Zero, and he will be more than happy to assist you in any way you require.
Our Order can both license and ordain ministers to serve in a clerical capacity. Both licenses and ordinations are legal in every state in the USA and may be in other countries. All Ministers can officiate at weddings and conduct other religious ceremonies. Depending on the state or country, certain restrictions may apply. Please check with the local authorities to know your status if your country or state regulates religious organizations or clergy.
To become a minister of the Force you must be licensed or ordained by our Order, which requires undergoing clerical training at our seminary.
To join the seminary you should first contact the Assistant Pastor for the Seminary, who will ask you to explain your interest in becoming a clergy person and to ensure that you understand the commitment and skill required.
Clerical training consists of a series of exercises that require your understanding of various topics, including relevant terms such as “liturgy” and “communion”, the duties of a member of the Clergy and spiritual and social discussions.
Upon completion of the Clerical Training Programme, your application will be considered by the Synod. If approved, you will then be given a ceremony and awarded the appropriate title. If you would like a certificate detailing your Minister's Licence, these may be sent, for a small fee, by post.
There is a normally a requirement of having reached the rank of Knight prior to being admitted into the Seminary, but an Apprentice, active in standing, may be admitted with the informed consent of the Apprentice and their Teaching Master. We recommend that any such Apprentice will have completed (or made substantial progress on) their A. Div before applying.
The Degree Scheme helps individuals develop their understanding of their Jedi path.
As a non-profit religious organisation, TotJO has the right to issue religious degrees: Degrees of Divinity, in effect degrees in Jediism. The Degree Scheme consists of a set of required and elective lessons. Once a student has completed the required and elective lessons and their work has been evaluated by the Education Administration, they will be awarded the corresponding degree.
We currently issue the following degrees:
Associate Degree of Divinity (A.Div)
Bachelor Degree of Divinity (B.Div)
Master Degree of Divinity (M.div)
Completing enough lessons to earn the A.Div level is one of the minimum requirements for promotion to the rank of Knight. The B.Div is one of the minimum requirements for the rank Senior Knight. A Senior Knight may complete the Mdiv or compose a thesis as one of the minimum requirements for the rank of Master
An Apprentice is an Initiate who has been taken on by a Training/Teaching Master and is receiving one-on-one mentoring and a personalised learning programme to guide the Apprentice into becoming a fully-fledged Jedi Knight. To be apprenticed an Initiate must be at least eighteen (18) years of age.
The Training/Teaching Master will teach their Apprentice until Knighthood or the dissolution of the Apprenticeship. Apprenticeship has a minimum training time of at least six months and the completion of the Associate Degree (A.Div) level of the Degree. Even if these minimums are completed if the Training/Teaching Master does not feel the Apprentice is ready for Knighthood they will not be Knighted. These expectations will vary and will be tailored to the Apprentice.
There is a procedure (Taking on an Apprentice Law) to enter an Apprenticeship, and an Apprenticeship is only valid if cleared by a Councillor. Once cleared a public announcement will be made regarding the new Apprenticeship. When the Teaching Master considers their Apprentice to be ready for Knighthood, they will contact the Council Secretary, to arrange for an interview between the Apprentice, their Training/Teaching Master and a Councillor. If the Apprentice's interview is successful a Knighting ceremony will be organised to promote the Apprentice to the rank of Knight.
Occasionally the right Training/Teaching Master will be unavailable, so not all Initiates will immediately be Apprenticed. If this is the case Initiates should begin the degree scheme, engage in conversations in the forum and participate in Discord chat. Showing patience and initiative in your studies is what will attract a potential Training/Teaching Master.
