Church Estates Act

Church Estates Act

An Act to consolidate and build upon the Cathedrals and Churchlands Act and the Sanctuary Act to provide for a single, authoritative law on the relationship between the civil law and the properties of the Church of the Holy Light on Stormwind soil.

AUTHOR: Lord Baldassar Partiger, Count of the Aspera Coast.

SPONSORS: N/A

BE IT ENACTED by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Repeal of antecedent legislation
 * 1) The Cathedrals and Churchlands Act will be repealed entirely by this legislation.
 * 2) The Sanctuary Act will be repealed entirely by this legislation.

2 On the definition of “church guards”
 * 1) “Church guards” will be classified as any force given sanction to act in the protection of church estates by a Bishop with authority in Stormwind, and will retain the power to enforce the articles of this Act within those church estates.
 * 2) Units of church guards will be answerable to the Bishop that has sanctioned them, and said Bishop may institute ranks and structures at their pleasure upon their units.
 * 3) Church guards must be clearly identifiable as such.
 * 4) Church guards must comply with the authority of a Constable of the Peace should one intercede in a matter, and are expected to tender any detainees over to HM Constabulary.

3 On the definition of “church estates”
 * 1) “Church estates” within the City of Stormwind will be considered the following:


 * 1) The Cathedral of the Holy Light.
 * 2) The Cathedral wedding garden.
 * 3) Stormwind City Cemetery.
 * 4) The interior and exterior grounds of any additional property owned by the Church of the Holy Light and actively operated as a place of worship or sanctified place of rest in the City of Stormwind.
 * 5) “Church estates” outside of the City of Stormwind will be considered the following:


 * 1) Northshire Abbey, and its surrounding estates.
 * 2) The interior and exterior grounds of any additional property owned by the Church of the Holy Light and actively operated as a place of worship or sanctified place of rest in the Kingdom of Stormwind, or her overseas territories, or any place wherein she has military jurisdiction.

4 On the crime of blasphemy
 * 1) It will be considered blasphemy to, within the confines of a church estate, conduct by any act, by word or deed, that insults, satirises, denigrates or defiles the Holy Light.
 * 2) It will be considered blasphemy to, within the confines of a church estate, debase, destroy, burn or vandalise any symbol, idol, icon, relic, or holy text of significance to the Holy Light.
 * 3) It will be considered blasphemy to, within the confines of a church estate, preach, publish or promote any doctrine supportive or reverent of a faith or religious movement which, in its practices, canon, presbytery or divinities, presents belligerent opposition to the Holy Light or to the Kingdom of Stormwind.
 * 4) It will be considered blasphemy to, within the confines of a church estate, commit an act of violence, unless said act is in the defence of another, or has been committed by a Constable of the Peace or church guard with legitimate cause.

5 On the crime of desecration of the dead
 * 1) It will be considered desecration of the dead to excavate or open any grave, vault, mausoleum, urn, or other resting place or repository for the dead in order to steal, reanimate or otherwise defile or damage the remains, or to steal, defile or damage grave goods.
 * 2) It will not be considered desecration of the dead to conduct an excavation for the purposes of satisfying a court order, executing a lawful warrant, or for reburial at the behest of the family of the deceased.
 * 3) It will be considered desecration of the dead to mutilate, mutate, or otherwise damage the body of one who has been declared deceased, and the penalty will be greater should the deceased be an ordained paladin, an anointed knight, an ordained priest, a peer of Stormwind or an enthroned Bishop.

6 On the definition of the rite of sanctuary
 * 1) The rite of sanctuary is a sacred article wherein a suspect may undertake a period of atonement before their ultimate surrender to the lawful authorities or abjuration from the Kingdom of Stormwind.
 * 2) Sanctuary may only be granted by a Bishop, and may only be granted in a cathedral church or abbey of the Church of the Holy Light in Stormwind.
 * 3) The initiation of the rite of sanctuary requires that the suspect approach the Bishop in the relevant estates and declares “I seek sanctuary.” The Bishop will then, at their discretion, grant or refuse to grant sanctuary.

'''“You are granted sanctuary here, so long as you surrender your weapons unto us, confess your sins and remain in the custody of our guards. This is not a reprieve from the law, and you must either surrender to the law once your time has passed, or abjure from this realm into exile. Violate the conditions of this sanctuary, and you will be guilty of crimes against both the law of the King and the law of the Light. Should you forfeit your sanctuary, you will be subject to arrest. Do you understand these conditions?” Sanctuary only begins when the suspect accepts the proclamation.'''
 * 1) If the priest does not elect to grant sanctuary, then the suspect receives no impediment to their arrest.
 * 2) If the priest does elect to grant sanctuary, they must issue the proclamation of sanctuary:
 * 1) This process may not be interrupted by any lawful authority attempting to undertake the arrest.
 * 2) The period of sanctuary will be agreed upon between the Bishop and the lawful authority seeking arrest but may be no longer than seven days.
 * 3) Whilst under sanctuary, the suspect must surrender all arms and accept the fixture of an enchanted cuff to nullify magical ability, and must be supervised by a church guard throughout their stay.
 * 4) Living or undead adherents of the Horde, Scourge, or Burning Legion; those convicted of high treason by any Grand Alliance nation; or those being pursued for that charge, or for espionage or murder, in Stormwind may not be granted sanctuary.

7 On the crime of violation of sanctuary
 * 1) Flight from the custody of the Church, or refusal to meet the obligations of the law on sanctuary, or the obligations of the proclamation, on the part of the suspect, will be considered violation of sanctuary.
 * 2) Unlawful extension of the period of sanctuary, or aiding and abetting the abscondment of the suspect from sanctuary, on the part of the issuing Bishop, will be considered violation of sanctuary.
 * 3) Attempting to arrest the suspect whilst under the rite of sanctuary (and compliant to its terms), or aiding and abetting the abscondment of the suspect from sanctuary, on the part of a lawful agent, will be considered violation of sanctuary.
 * 4) Aiding and abetting the abscondment of the suspect from sanctuary, on the part of a citizen, will be considered violation of sanctuary.

8 On the definition of the rite of abjuration "I swear before the Holy Light, and in the name of His Majesty, that I do renounce my crimes, and all my rights to live under His grace; and that I will leave the realm of Stormwind and never return without the express permission of my Sovereign Lord His Majesty or his heirs; and will hasten by the direct road to the port allotted me, not leaving the highway under pain of arrest or execution, nor staying at one place more than one night; I shall seek diligently for passage across the sea as soon as I arrive, delaying only one tide if possible; and if I cannot secure passage I will walk into the sea up to my knees each day as a token of my desire to cross; and if I fail in all of this then may what perils fall upon me that might. Long live the King."
 * 1) Should the suspect elect to abjure from the Realm rather than face the lawful processes of the courts, they must surrender all worldly possessions to the charity of the Church, and all lands and titles to the Crown, and must - after swearing an oath - depart from Stormwind barefoot and bearing a staff with the sign of the Light, through a port or gateway as designated by the issuing Bishop, without hesitation.
 * 2) The oath of abjuration is as follows:
 * 1) Once the abjuring suspect has departed the realm, they will be an exile, stripped of citizenship and forbidden to return without the express permission of the Sovereign, or by a vote of the House of Nobles. As an outlaw, should they return whilst under condition of exile, their life will be forfeit.

9 On the crime of violation of abjuration
 * 1) Unreasonable delay to their departure on the part of the abjuring suspect will be considered violation of abjuration.
 * 2) Sheltering or assisting the abjuring suspect on the part of a citizen will be considered violation of abjuration.
 * 3) Attempting to arrest the abjuring suspect without good legal cause on the part of a lawful agent will be considered violation of abjuration.

10 Short title and commencement
 * 1) The short title of this act will be the “Church Estates Act”.
 * 2) The provisions of this act will come into force immediately.