Reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand

The Reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand is a Congregation of the Council of Bishops comprised primarily of the Paladins of the Order of the Silver Hand. The Congregation's purpose is:
 * To uphold the Code of the original Order of the Silver Hand as established by Alonsus Faol, and Uther the Lightbringer.
 * To walk in the grace of the Holy Light and spread its wisdom throughout Alliance lands.
 * To vanquish evil wherever it may be found, and protect the faithful citizens of the Grand Alliance.
 * To provide aspirants with the education, physical, and spiritual training necessary to make them worthy of the honor of being anointed paladin defenders of the Grand Alliance.
 * To provide a forum for general petitions to the Archbishop and Council of Bishops from all anointed paladins of the Grand Alliance.
 * To provide a forum for the discussion of united military action as it is relevant to the integrity of the Church of the Holy Light, and the stability of the Grand Alliance, insofar as such a discussion is approved by the Bishop of the Silver Hand.

Brief History
Founded in 623 K.C., the original Congregation acted as the body by which all knights and paladins who pledged themselves to the Order could come and voice their concerns, questions, and calls for aid.

On November 10th, 623 K.C., due to controversy surrounding the continued longevity of the Congregation in the wake of death of the Congregation's first Grand Knight, Erich Gottfried Manstein, and the brief tenure of his successor, Lady Melysa Marwyn, the Council of Bishops issued an act for the dissolution of the Congregation. (For a complete history of the original Congregation, please click here.)

Unwilling to acknowledge the decision of the Council, Lady Tanya Seltara continued the Congregation in the form of the Independent Paladin Assembly, which continues to meet to this day. After his election in January 624K.C., Archbishop Caspius dedicated himself to the task of soliciting the opinions of the most renowned Paladins in the realm. Appointing Tanya Seltara Grand Master pro tempore to call paladins to the forthcoming promulgation, he used the work of Melysa Marwyn as a basis from which to rewrite the constitution, establishing clear and firm boundaries and duties for the reinstated congregation.

The new Constitution was promulgated on 1 March, 624K.C. at Tyr's Hand, Lordaeron, and the Congregation was officially reformed under its new constitution.

After the controversy surrounding the abdication of Archbishop Caspius, Melysa Marwyn similarly abdicated from the position of Grand Master after denouncing the Council of Bishops for its alleged corruption and renouncing her oath to said organisation. A new Grand Master has yet to be chosen.

The next meeting of the Congregation of the Silver Hand is on Saturday 3 May, 623 K.C. at Tyr's Hand.

Purpose
It is established...
 * That, in union with the Council of Bishops, and by their commission that all Alliance paladins once bound by oath to the Order of the Silver Hand, or presently bound by oath in service to the Church of the Holy Light, or aspiring to paladinhood, should hereafter come together as one to form the polity of the reformed Congregation of the Silver Hand;
 * That this Congregation of necessity recognizeth the rightwise orthodoxy of the Church of the Holy Light and freely acquiesceth to the traditional bonds of faith and governance that rest between the Church and the holy Order of Paladins, as set forth in the code of the original Order of the Silver Hand. In accordance with the beliefs of this most sacred relationship let it be known that the Church of the Holy Light and its rightful executor, the Archbishop of the Council of Bishops, is vested rightly with full power and authority to make, alter and repeal all of the laws, rules and regulations for the administration, discipline and formation of the Congregation of the Silver Hand with or without the notice of the members of the congregation, that congregation being pledged to the defense of the Holy Church, and the Grand Alliance;
 * And that this Congregation is wholly a congregation of the Council of Bishops, subject to the same laws, governance, expectations, and duties required of all other congregations, serving under its prefect, the Bishop of the Silver Hand, and under the Archbishop.

Authority
The Congregation is a representative body and not a governing body. It does not possess the right to manage the internal affairs of those orders and chapters represented in its ranks beyond the remit required by the membership guidelines.

The Congregation has the right to vote resolutions which are then passed to the appropriate authority, be they the Bishop of the Silver Hand, the Lord Chancellor of the Church, or the Archbishop. The Congregation may not take upon itself powers that are possessed solely by the Church, Archbishop, Council, or Prefect, such as the ability to resolve doctrinal disputes, make wars, call crusades, and cast out Paladins from the Order of the Silver Hand. However, the Congregation does have the right to resolve that it would like any of these things to be done, thus directly representing its position to those in authority. --Whereupon, the authority so referred should either accede to the request of the Congregation or decline, providing some explanation of either course.

The Congregation has the right to establish codes of conduct, to set training guidelines, to call tournaments, and--most importantly--to create the military regimen necessary to maintain its constitutent bodies in a state of readiness. For this purpose, it should encourage, arrange, organise, and prepare war games, military manoeuvres, and other such sundry events as will continually improve the universal Paladinhood.

If the Congregation wishes to take an act and is unsure if the act is lawful, a simple request for a yea/nay response can be made by the Speaker to the Bishop of the Silver Hand, (or to his superior the Lord Chancellor, or directly to his superior, the Archbishop).

All members of the congregation agree, by their membership, to recognise in full the Paladins of the other members of the congregation. If a member body believes that another member body is in violation of the requirements of membership, the matter should be referred to the Prefect Bishop of the Silver Hand at once.

Membership
The Congregation of the Silver Hand shall accept, as speaking representatives, the Paladin who is the head of each chapter or order of Paladins that have been approved by the Bishop of the Silver Hand (or, his officially designated Paladin representative, from within the same order). These members are equal in stature at the Congregation, and are each possessed with a single, non-transferable vote, in all matters before the Congregation. Only members of the Congregation, the Bishop of the Silver Hand, the Grand Master of the Silver Hand, the Lord Chancellor of the Church, or the Archbishop may address the congregation as 'members' or 'peers'. All others who wish to speak must be invited so to do in a motion, seconded, and voted upon by the congregation.

The titular style for voting, representative members is "The Honourable" as in, "The Honourable X," "The Honourable Representative for the X," and "His/Her/Your Honour."

For a chapter or order to gain recognition by the Bishop of the Silver Hand, the said chapter or order must demonstrate:
 * That its paladins are trained and squired in accordance with the mission statement of the Congregation.
 * That its paladins are wholly orthodox and knowledgeable believers of the teachings of the Holy Church.
 * That its paladins are virtuous; and that the order will not suffer fallen, corrupt, or otherwise gravely sullied paladins to remain within its ranks.
 * That its paladins are loyal to the Light, the Holy Church, the Archbishop, the Council of Bishops, and the Grand Alliance, being not neutral in any regard.
 * That its paladins are duly consecrated only by Bishops of the Council of Bishops.

Should the Prefect Bishop of the Silver Hand determine that a body has lapsed in these observances, the Prefect will revoke membership until the body is once again in accordance with the principles above.

Should a body fail to attend two successive meetings, it will lose its voting rights (effective at that second meeting) until it is again in attendance, and its vote shall not be considered in matters before council, nor shall the said vote constitute part of those counted as amongst the membership.

Should a body fail to attend three sucessive meetings, it will lose its membership entirely, and will need to reapply for membership through the Bishop of the Silver Hand, serving as prefect.

An individual who refuses to attend without just cause approved by the Speaker, Prefect Bishop of the Silver Hand, or Archbishop, having been ordered so to do by the Speaker, and attempted to be brought before the council by the Sergeant-at-Arms, shall invalidate the membership of their order in the Congregation and will need to reapply for membership through the Bishop of the Silver Hand, serving as prefect.

Eiligible Organisations
The following organisations were determined to be eligible for membership by the Council of Bishops. Each organisation must elect its own representative to address the Congregation. If your organisation is not listed here, and you are interested in membership, please contact the Congregational Prefect, Bishop Lilith Sahl Olethos.

Confirmed Members

 * Blazing Dawn Representative (Binor)
 * Clergy of the Holy Light  Representative (TBD)


 * The Highguard (High Elf) Representative (Galvajin)


 * House of Elric Representative (Ritchard)


 * Ivory Vanguard Representative (Hopewarden) (Status ambiguous)


 * Noble Guard Representative (Regg) (Status ambiguous)


 * Scarlet Hammer Representative (Lightburnt)

Unconfirmed

 * Blades of Greymane, Representative (Cedrec)


 * Grey Hand Representative TBD


 * League of Lordaeron Representative (Cartres)


 * Ardent Inquisition Representative TBD
 * Silver Hand Chapter Representative (Stromheart)