The Process for Knighthood Promotion is as follows:
Upon receiving the Associates of Divinity degree from the Education Administration, the Training Master will submit a Notice of Intent to Promote to the Knights' Secretary. At that time the Knights Secretary will create a thread in the Knights' Forum asking for volunteers to sit on the Panel. Any member in good standing who currently holds the rank of Knight or higher may volunteer.
Apprentice review panel-
Apprentice review panel shall be made up of three non bias members of Knight rank or higher. The president of the panel shall be a council member which has been requested to act as chair head upon creation of this panel. The remaining two seats shall be two randomly selected volunteers from the volunteer pool.
-If the Training Master has any grievances to note about the choices, they will make an appeal immediately.
-All appeals shall be decided by the President of the Panel.
-Any further appeal may be decided by a Council vote.
-Knights may not sit on two consecutive Panels
The Panel itself shall consist of the following consecutive steps:
Journal review;
candidate review;
written interview questions;
Live interview with the candidate;
Live interview with TM;
deliberation;
Final vote.
The journal review shall be conducted by all members of the panel and should not take more than seven days to grade and make any relevant notes. The panel shall assess things such as interactions on the forum and discord, and interview temple members about interactions with the candidate. Moderators should be contacted to discuss any "q thread" posts or relevant disciplinary actions. At this time, the Council Member serving as President of the Panel may disclose things that are not publicly available so that a fully informed vote may take place.
Written and live interview questions shall consist of standard interview questions, and any additional questions the panel may find relevant to the interview. The live interview shall consist of no less than one panel member. In the event that a Panel member cannot attend, they may refer to the notes taken by those in attendance or a recording of the Live Interview as available. The Live Interview shall consist of either the candidate or Training Master having a live discussion via Zoom or some other media. The Temples zoom account will be available for this process. The training master may not be present for the candidate’s interview and vice versa. The live interview shall be scheduled in such a manner that is convenient for all involved. The interview process should take no longer than one week unless extended by the board due to scheduling conflicts.
After all other parts are completed, the panel shall move to deliberation where in the panel will discuss their findings, notes taken, and give their personal impressions. This should not take longer than 3 days. Notes of the deliberation shall be taken by the President of the panel to be posted in the knighting thread along with the results of the vote. One vote shall be cast by each panel member either “yes” or “no”. A majority vote is required to promote the candidate. If there is not a majority vote in favor then the President of the Panel shall only post the results of the vote to close the thread, then will contact the Training Master privately and discuss suggested further lessons determined by the Panel and to let them know why the candidate is not being promoted at this time. A new Panel may not be created for at least 3 months. If a majority vote is in favor then the candidate shall be promoted to knight and the President of the Panel will post in the Knights' thread the notes taken during deliberation, and the result of the vote.
- All candidates for Knighthood must meet the requirements of a Knight, per the Knight Rank Law.
- The candidate's Teaching Master must submit the candidate to the Degree Administrator who will check the candidate meets the requirements of the A.Div.
- If the candidate meets the requirements of the A.Div the Teaching Master gets the candidate to write up an assessment of their time at TotJO (IP and Apprenticeship) to date.
- The Teaching master informs the Council Secretary who checks with the Degree Administrator that the candidate meets the minimum requirements for the A.Div.
- The Council will review the candidate's eligibility.
- If eligible, the Council Secretary will arrange the interview to include the Teaching Master and at least one Councillor.
- The Council will review the results of the interview and vote.
- If the candidate has merited the succession of the title Knight of Jediism, the Council Secretary shall organize the Knighting Ceremony. The Council Secretary will liaise with Former Teaching Master to determine who will make the announcement to the general public in the forums. If the candidate is not successful the Council Secretary will inform the candidate's Teaching Master about what needs to be addressed. Quoting from relevant posts from Council posts if applicable.
- When the Knighting Ceremony has been completed the representative of the Council present must post a transcript of the Knighting Ceremony to the candidate's Knighthood Ceremony announcement.
1. A "Questionable Application" is defined as:
A. An "Application" which lists criminal convictions.
B. Any "Application" the "Application Processor" feels the Council must be advised of.
C. Any "Application" filled by an "Applicant" whom a Councillor feels the Council must be advised of.
2. Processing of a "Questionable Application"
A. The "Application Processor" must bring a "Questionable Application" before the Council.
B. If no objection is made by a Councillor within 7 days, the "Application" is no longer deemed a "Questionable Application".
C. If objections are voiced, a "Questionable Application" is deemed invalid until the council decides otherwise.
A. Minimum age for a Temple Member is thirteen (13). For people under 18 years of age, parental consent must be obtained according to the regulations in force at the time.
C. The "Application" must have been duly processed by the authorities.
B. The Temple Member must have begun studying the "Initiate Programme" to the satisfaction of the authorities.
A. The rank of "Novice" must be held according to regulations currently in force.
B. The Novice must have completed the "Initiate Programme" to the satisfaction of the authorities.
D. The apprenticeship must not have been abandoned.
D. The apprenticeship must have been completed to the satisfaction of the Training Master.
E. The apprentice must have taken a valid "Solemn Vow".
F. The Apprentice must have been knighted according to the regulations in force at the time of the knighting.
A. The rank of "Knight" must be held according to regulations currently in force.
B. The B.Div level of the degree scheme must have been successfully completed.
C. The Knight must have been active in the Order prior to the promotion to Senior Knight.
D. The Council must have approved the promotion to Senior Knight.
A. The rank of "Senior Knight" must be held according to regulations currently in force.
B. The Senior Knight must have achieved one of the following:
- 3 Years of Service - beyond the initial rank of Knight - to the Temple (we’ll leave it to the candidate to decide what they consider “service”) OR
- Completing a thesis to add to the Temple’s body of work
D. The Council must have approved the promotion to Master.
A. The rank of "Knight" must be held according to regulations currently in force.
B. The person must have gone through preparation for taking on an Apprentice to the satisfaction of the former Training Master.
C. If the former Training Master is no longer available then another Training Master, who has trained to Knighthood at least one Apprentice, may be substituted.
2. A First-time Teaching Master must ask for guidance from their former Teaching Master regarding the challenges of taking on an Apprentice.
3. The prospective Teaching Master and Apprentice must discuss their potential future relationship and its implications before notifying anyone of their intentions.
4. The prospective Teaching Master must notify their former Teaching Master, or Council Secretary, who will arrange for a Councillor, who will:
-A. Check the good standing of both prospective teacher and apprentice. (contacting records would be necessary to check application)
-B. Ensure both are aware this is an "at-will" partnership which can be terminated by either party, preferably after mediation.
5. Final approval or disapproval by a Councillor, who through the Council Secretary, will notify Membership Affairs, and the former Teaching Master. An announcement by a member of The Council will be made once final approval has been given.
