Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller Investiture Manual Issued by the International Office with the authority of Le Petit Conseil by the Registrar General email [email protected] tel 604-685-2141 fax 604-685-2142 24 January 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction............................................................................................ 2 Standard Order of Service ................................................................... 5 Template “Ceremony of Investiture” ................................................. 8 APPENDIX A – Procession ........................................................... 25 APPENDIX B – Procession OUT.................................................. 27 APPENDIX C – Church Seating..................................................... 29 APPENDIX D – Listings of Promotions....................................... 31 APPENDIX E – Listings of Elections............................................ 32 APPENDIX F – Listings of Awards............................................... 33 APPENDIX G – Flags/Colour Party ............................................. 34 APPENDIX H – Biennial Sovereign Council Meeting ................ 35 APPENDIX I – Investiture in non English-Speaking Country .................................................................. 36 APPENDIX J – Rehearsal ............................................................... 37 APPENDIX K – Relevant Rules for Investitures ......................... 38 - Beatitudes - Sword - Investiture - Induction - Appendix 10 - Appendix 11 - Oath of Office - Vow APPENDIX L – Allocution.............................................................. 45 APPENDIX M – Investiture Request Form.................................. 52 1 Introduction This manual has been approved by Le Petit Conseil (LPC) and is to be used for all investitures. There is flexibility to accommodate local traditions provided, however, that the required components are included in every investiture. The manual is not designed to introduce more bureaucracy to the investiture process. It is meant to clarify and remove uncertainty. The Rules of the Sovereign Order – 2008 related to investitures must be read and complied with when applying the contents of this manual. The relevant parts of the rules are contained in Appendix (K) of the manual. Investitures will only take place when they have been requested and approved using the Investiture Request Form included herewith as Appendix (M). Please note that a minimum of 5 aspirants is required for an investiture to be held. The Commander responsible for an investiture shall send a draft of the proposed investiture program to the Presiding Officer for the investiture, the Grand Marshal and the Convenor of the Ecclesiastical Council at least 6 weeks prior to the investiture. The Presiding Officer, the Grand Marshal and the Convenor of the Ecclesiastical Council shall respond promptly with any comments so that final printing can occur on a timely basis. Investitures will always be conducted at a time and at a location approved by LPC. While it is expected that the Service will be in a church approved by LPC there may be occasional exceptions where the Service is held in another venue approved by LPC. 2 It is strongly recommended that the host Commandery Marshal recruit sufficient ushers in order to direct guests, aspirants and the members in the procession to their places in the church. Throughout this manual, there is reference to “Commandery”. Some investitures are presented by the Priory on behalf of several Commanderies. In Europe there are Priories with no Commanderies. Wording in the Order of Service Program should be altered accordingly. Much preparation is required in order to have an investiture executed with the impressive formality which the Aspirants and Promotees (in particular) deserve to experience as they join the Order or are promoted. An Investiture Committee should be formed approximately two months before the date of the investiture. The Committee should include the Commander, the Marshal (someone who has had appropriate training and experience for this duty), a Deputy Marshal, Clergy, Head Usher & the Regalia Custodian. If the investiture is part of a Sovereign Council meeting, particularly in a location which does not have a strong local Commandery, the Investiture Committee might include persons suggested by members of LPC in order to ensure adequate experience is present. Particularly for larger Commanderies, several meetings may be required to ensure that the church service will run smoothly. The Committee should ensure that it receives and finalizes: a) The list of attendees to be used to plan the Processions In/Out 3 b) A floor plan of the church and it’s microphone placements – to be used for the placement of the speaker’s podium, regalia desk, and the seating for participants. c) A seating plan in the church – using the final list of participants- listed appropriately by rank – for the Procession In & Out. This seating plan will be made available to all ushers before the rehearsal commences. d) Appropriate written words to be read from the podium by the Deputy Marshal (or other person familiar with the addressee) with respect to Promotions, Elections, Inductions and Awards. e) A draft of the Order of Service – which will need constant updates as the list of participants changes. f) A well worded notice to all attendees which emphasizes attendance at the rehearsal for all officers of the Order, all ushers, aspirants, and members being promoted, elected or inducted. At the breakfast for the aspirants, there should be some explanation about what will happen at the rehearsal. The Order of Service programs, the lists for the Processions In/Out, the seating plan in the church, the flags, the sword(s) and some regalia should all be used to ensure that the rehearsal sets everyone up for an impressive ceremony. 4 Standard Order of Service Program Following this commentary, which includes some cautions, is a template suitable for most investiture service programs. It must be remembered that the tradition of a denomination or of national usage shall take precedence over a particular form of Service. The principal items set out below should be observed within any Service, but they are subject to the religious requirements of confession and usage of the host Unit. i. Allocution ii. Call to Worship iii. Reading of The Epistle and Gospel - Optional Homily iv. Recitation of The Nicene Creed v. Blessing of the Regalia vi. Promotion and Induction, when applicable vii. Vow of the Knight/Dame viii. Investiture ix. Prayers & Benediction The choice of hymns and music played during the Service shall be at the discretion of the Clergy of the Commandery/Unit provided, however, the choices are part of the approval required for the Order of Service referred to above in the introduction. 5 When listing participants with their post nominals, it is important to remember to do that properly. Members who have been awarded the Certificate of Merit are not entitled to post nominals. Members who have been awarded the Medal of Merit and/or Cross of Merit shall be listed with their rank (e.g. GCSJ) followed by the award(s) post nominals (e.g. CMSJ, MMSJ if both are held). When listing, on the last page of the program, those being promoted and/or inducted, it may not be appropriate to also list those who will receive awards because it should, hopefully, be a very pleasant surprise when the name(s) are announced by the Deputy Marshal. Participants in the Service shall remove their right hand gloves before shaking hands and placing their hands on the Bible. It is appropriate to have aspirants and those being promoted receive their Warrants/Certificates either as they are greeted by senior officers following their investiture – or at the function that follows the Service. It is appropriate to use either the term “Herald” or “Marshal” when referring to the person/position directing traffic during the Service. The term “Officiant” means Officiating Clergy. 6 The following template happens to be on 8 ½” x 11” paper. There is no specific page size, paper quality, type size, or colour requirements with respect to the printed copy except for the eagle emblem. Where the words “Presiding Officer” are used in the following template, the position actually leading the Service e.g., Grand Master, Grand Commander or other member of Le Petit Conseil will be inserted. 7 Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller Priory of (insert) (Insert) Commandery or (“ies”) Ceremony of Investiture (Insert) Church (Insert City, State, Province, Country) (Insert day of the week and date) (Insert time of day) Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum (For Faith, For Service to Humanity) 8 This page may be used to list the order of the procession into the church. The Investiture Manual has this list (Appendix A) provided as separate document for those who need it. Alternately It is appropriate to use this page for a brief description of the order – which will be expanded upon by the Allocution. The following words are appropriate. “The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller is an Ecumenical, International Christian Order directly descended from the Order of St. John, founded in the late 11th century. Before the Crusades, a hostel had been established to provide respite for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. During the First Crusade, this hostel was converted to a hospital to serve both pilgrims and crusaders.