Templum Ignis Aeternum

CHANCELLOR

The chief executive officer of the Correllian Nativist Tradition is the Chancellor. The Chancellor is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Tradition, the administration of all records and legal matters. The Chancellor is the deputy of and represents the interests of the leadership of the Correllian Tradition in all things. The Chancellor is the principle authority in and the final court of appeals for all matters relating to the administration of the Tradition.

The office of Chancellor must be filled by one of the Joint Heads of the Correllian Tradition, but may be filled by either the First Priestess or First Priest. In the event that the Joint Heads cannot agree on which should act as Chancellor, the matter will be resolved by vote of the Correllian Council of Elders.

Once filled, the office is understood to be held for life.The office of Chancellor was first established by the Correllian Council of Elders at their meeting on Mabon, year 0 Aquarius (2000 AD), held in conjunction with the Awakenings Festival. The creation of the office of Chancellor formalized an existing agreement which had been in effect since 1592 Pisces (1992 AD) between the First Priestess and First Priest, allowing the First Priest to act in all matters for the Tradition leadership severally and as a whole, in recognition of the need for more immediate response to situations than was possible under the diarchal system. It is to be understood however that the establishment of the office of Chancellor does not replace the diarchy, but rather serves to streamline its operations.The Chancellor of the Correllian Nativist Tradition is M. Rev. Donald Lewis-Highcorrell, First Priest and Paramount High Priest of the Tradition.

FIRST PRIESTESS

The First Priestess and First Priest traditionally act as Joint Heads of the Correllian Tradition, forming a diarchy. The First Priestess is the Matriarchal Joint-Head of the Tradition. In this capacity the First Priestess is responsible for maintaining the sanctity of the Correllian Tradition and its connection with the Ancestors and the Divine. The initiation of all Priesthood, Temples and Orders ultimately derive authority from this sanctity, and thus from the First Priestess. The First Priestess also acts as chairperson for the Correllian Council of Elders.

The First Priestess Elect of the Correllian Tradition is M. Rev. Traci Logan Wood. Lady Traci was named Acting First Priestess on 23 April, Year 11 Aq.Previous First Priestesses of the Correllian Tradition include Blv. Orpheis Caroline High Correll, Blv. Mable High Correll, and Blv. Rev. LaVeda Lewis-Highcorrell, and M. Rev. Krystel High- Correll. 

FIRST PRIEST

The First Priest is the Fraternal Joint-Head of the Tradition. In the past the First Priest was normally either the brother or son of the First Priestess. The First Priest is responsible for co-ordinating relations between Correllian Temples, and acts as chairperson for the Witan Council when it shall be invoked. The First Priest is responsible for the Tradition’s relations with other Wiccan and Pagan Traditions. The First Priest is also responsible for maintaining the Tradition’s history and internal records, and its publications.

The current First Priest of the Correllian Tradition is M. Rev. Donald Lewis-Highcorrell, having been thus acclaimed in 1579 Pisces (1979 AD).Previous First Priests of the Correllian Tradition include Blv. William High, Blv. Frank High Correll, and Blv. William High Correll.

FIRST ELDER

The First Elder of the Tradition is the principle advisor to the Tradition Heads, and to the Tradition as a whole. The First Elder is chosen by the Tradition Heads and is the Philosopher Laureate of the Correllian Tradition. The First Elder is also responsible for overseeing the succession to the offices of the Tradition leadership. 

The current First Elder of the Correllian Tradition is Rt. Rev. Stephanie Neal, who was acclaimed as First Elder on 29 April, Year 13 Aquarius (2013 AD).

Previous First Elders of the Correllian Tradition include Blv. Frank High Correll, and Blv. Rev. Gloria High Correll, Rev. Virginia "Bitterwind" Smith, and Rev. Ed Hubbard.

FIRST DIRECTOR

The First Director is responsible for maintaining the Tradition’s legal standing and records and co-ordinating relations between the various Chief Directors of Temples. The first Director is also responsible for representing the Tradition to the non-Pagan world, and for co-ordinating ecumenical outreach, as well as public relations and publicity.

The office of First Director was created out of the traditional duties of the First Priest, and was established as a permanent office of the Tradition in 1591 Pisces (1991 AD).

The current First Director of the Correllian Tradition is Rt. Rev. Jason Highcorrell, having been thus appointed on 29 April, Year 13 Aquarius (2013 AD).

COUNCIL OF ELDERS

The Correllian Council of Elders (CCE) is an advisory body made up of the Officers of the Correllian Tradition as listed above, as well as other members chosen from among highly respected members of the Tradition.  The Council of Elders might be described as the “cabinet” of the Tradition, being a council whose non-binding opinion is solicited to help shape Tradition-wide policy.  The Correllian Council of Elders may be convened at the discretion of either of Joint Heads of Tradition, but is chaired by the First Priestess.

The principle purpose of the Correllian Council of Elders, besides advising on matters of Tradition-wide policy, is to oversee the succession to the offices of the Joint heads of Tradition and the Chancellor of the Church.Membership on Correllian Council of Elders requires nomination by the Council of Elders or one of the Officers of Tradition, and confirmation by the Tradition Heads.Members of the Council of Elders are considered to be Arch Priesthood, and are sometimes described accordingly.Current members of the Correllian Council of Elders include: M. Rev. Don Lewis-Highcorrell, M. Rev. Traci Logan Wood, M. Rev. Krystel High-Correll, Rt. Rev. Stephanie Neal, Rt. Rev. Jason M. Highcorrell, Rt. Rev. Anna Rowe, Rt. Rev. Windy Lajoie, Rt. Rev. Raene Packery, and Rev. Terry Power.Retired: Rt. Rev. V. L. Bitterwind and Rt. Rev. Ed Hubbard.

WITAN COUNCIL

The Witan Council is made up of the Heads of all Correllian Temples, members of the Correllian Council of Elders, and the Officers and Heads of the Correllian Tradition. Only fully seated Temple Heads may be considered members of the Witan Council, though Acting Temple Heads may attend and address the Council. The First Priest acts as chairperson of the Witan Council.

The Witan Council is an advisory body which may be convened as needed to advise on matters of Tradition policy. However, the principle duty of the Witan Council is to confirm the succession to the offices of First priestess and First Priest.To learn more about the Witan Council, go HERE

TEMPLES

Correllian Temples are be established by charter, which may only be granted by the Heads of the Correllian Tradition through the Chancellor. Though any Temple may include Correllian ideas or even Correllian clergy, only a Temple chartered by the Correllian Tradition can be considered a true Correllian Temple.

Customarily Correllian Temples are established under a chartered Temple Head and a Board of Directors. The Head of Temple is responsible for the day to day running of the Temple. The Temple’s Chief Director, who may or may not be the same person as the Temple Head, is responsible to the Correllian Tradition for all required legal paperwork.Temple Heads are established by charter. The first Head of a given Temple is considered the Founding Head of Temple. Subsequent Heads of Temple may be nominated by their predecessor or by the Temple’s Board of Directors, but must be recognized by charter of the Tradition before being considered to be fully seated. Moreover, to be fully seated a Head of Temple must be a member of the High Priesthood, or Third Degree of Clergy.Temple Heads may be chartered from outside the High Priesthood at the discretion of the Chancellor, but are considered to be Acting Temple Heads under the imperium of a Third Degree Sponsor until such time as they themselves achieve the status Third Degree Priesthood, when they can be considered fully seated. When an Acting Temple Head achieves Third Degree status all initiations which they have performed in the pursuance of their office shall be considered part of their lineage. If an Acting Temple Head never achieves Third Degree status, initiations they have performed shall trace through the lineage of their Sponsor.

All fully seated Heads of Correllian Temples have a seat on the Witan Council, hence the name. Acting Heads of Temple may attend and address meetings of the Witan, but do not have a vote on the Council until they are fully seated.Correllian Temples are expected to conform to the basic tenets of Correllianism, but are given great leeway in the actual running of the Temple.

Proto-Temples

A Proto-Temple is  founded in the expectation of going on to become a full Temple.

When a Proto-Temple receives its charter as a Temple, the Keeper becomes recognized as the seated Head of Temple. If however the Keeper is below Third Degree when the Temple is chartered and is acting under the imperium of a Third Degree sponsor then the Keeper shall be recognized as Acting Head of Temple under their sponsors imperium until they have themselves attained the Third Degree, at which time they shall be fully seated on the Witan.

SHRINES

In Correllian parlance a Shrine is a place of worship similar to but less formal than a Temple. Whereas a Temple must be headed by a Third Degree Cleric, or under the direct imperium of a Third Degree Cleric, a Shrine may be headed by a person of any Degree.Sometimes a Shrine is formed as a less formal alternative to a Temple. Other times a Shrine may be formed to fulfill a specific function -as an annual ritual, social event, ministerial or charitable activity.The Correllian Tradition recognizes three kinds of Shrine:A Witan Shrine is founded in the expectation of going on to become a Proto-Temple.A Formal Shrine is a Shrine which has been established to perform a specific duty, often of a charitable nature.A Personal Shrine is a personal expression of the Shrine Keeper's spirituality and may be undertaken by any Tradition member.All three kinds of Shrine are described in greater detail below.WITAN SHRINES The most formal Shrines in the Tradition are Witan Shrines!

A Witan Shrine is a Shrine founded in expectation of its later becoming a Proto- Temple:  At this time all new Correllian Temples must spend at least one year as a Witan Shrine prior to being officially chartered as Temples of the Tradition.

A Witan Shrine functions in the same manner as a Shrine, described above, with the difference of its being considered a formal body of the Tradition rather than a private function of the Shrine Keeper, and it’s focused toward developing the functions of a Temple. 

The Keeper of a Witan Shrine must be a member of the Third Degree High Priesthood, or a person studying toward Third Degree and under the imperium of a Third Degree sponsor approved by the Council of Elders.

Unlike ordinary and Formal Shrines a Witan Shrine is considered a formal body of the Tradition.  A Witan Shrine Keeper is not regarded as having a seat on the Witan Council, and hence has no vote in the Council, but may attend and participate in the Council on the same basis as Acting Heads of Temples.


FORMAL SHRINES

In addition to the Witan Shrines described above, the Correllian Tradition also includes Formal Shrines.

A Formal Shrine is basically the same as a Personal Shrine: a private worship center maintained by an individual Correllian Tradition member of either Inner or Outer Court. The difference is that a Formal Shrine is dedicated to a specific project, event, or program of a social or charitable  nature which the Tradition endorses.

A Formal shrine is created by Charter rather than recognition. To be granted a charter as a Formal Shrine a Shrine must meet these criteria;

A) The Shrine must have been in existence as a recognized Shrine of the Correllian Tradition for a minimum of one year prior to applying for a charter as a Formal Shrine (three years is preferred).

B) To be chartered as a Formal Shrine a Shrine must be associated with a charitable activity or ministerial outreach project of some sort, beyond the celebration of worship.

Despite this a Formal Shrine, like an ordinary Shrine, has no representation on the Witan Council as it remains essentially a venture of its Shrine Keeper rather than of the Tradition as such.



PERSONAL SHRINES

To be an official Correllian Shrine, a Personal Shrine must be recognized by the Tradition. A Personal Shrine is given official existence through Recognition rather than Chartering. Recognition may be obtained through application to the Council of Elders through the office of the Chancellor.

Though a Personal Shrine may be recognized by the Tradition, it is not an official body of the Tradition, but rather the private project of a Tradition member.

Any Correllian may act as a Shrine Keeper, because of the informal nature of a Personal Shrine vs a Temple. A Keeper may be a Cleric of any Degree, or even an Outer Court Member, since a Personal Shrine performs no official ceremonies. However for the same reason a Shrine -no matter what the Degree of the Keeper- has no representation on the Witan Council.

 

STUDY GROUPS

There are two kinds of Study Groups: groups studying the initiatory lessons and groups studying other subjects. A Study Group may be hosted by a Temple, Shrine or a private individual.


Obviously anyone can study these subjects, but to be recognized as an official Correllian Study Group, the group must be registered with the Correllian Tradition.


ORDERS

An Order is an association dedicated to the study or practice of a particular subject, such as ecology, healing, music, etc.  

Although regarded as an independent body, an Order is formed by a Charter from the Tradition, which may only be granted by the Heads of Tradition through the office of the Chancellor. An Order may be formed around any subject of interest.

An Order commonly has a single Head who is responsible for organizing and facilitating it, who is called an Order Head.  The Order Head is also established by Charter from the Tradition. The Order Head may be of any Degree appropriate to the Order’s subject, as defined by the Tradition.


MERITORIOUS ORDERS

The Correllian Tradition also includes three Meritorious Orders.

Membership in the Meritorious Orders is given to honor people who have distinguished themselves by exceptional acts of service to the Tradition, to Paganism as a whole, or to the world.

In addition to the above Orders which are awarded only rarely and in recognition of extreme accomplishments, we have also established the following Meritorious Orders which are awarded twice yearly at the Lustrations, to recognize the work and achievements which keep our Tradition running on a daily basis.



CONTEMPLATIVES

The Correllian Tradition strongly favors the development of Contemplative orders focused on meditation and self-development. These orders may be based upon temporary or longer-term retirement from the mundane world. We believe it is important for people to be able to get away from the pressures of the world for spiritual retreat and re-creation. We feel that an ideal period for such spiritual retreat for most people would be from a few days to a few weeks.

To this end we desire to found one or more Contemplative Houses to provide for this need. These Contemplative Houses would be available to members of the Correllian Tradition for spiritual retreats whenever needed. In addition they could sponsor classes and workshops for Tradition members as well as the general public.

There were several unsuccessful attempts to turn Greenwood House, the former site of the High-Correll covenstead, into such a Retreat. 

The Victoria Carlson House of Contemplation, established 4 September, Year 4 Aquarius, located at 112 W. Main St. Hoopeston, Illinois, USA, in the upstairs portion of the Gray Elephant Building. This House of Contemplation was closed in Year 7 Aquarius.


Correllian Groups, Departments, & Hubs
There are a number of Yahoo Groups, Correllian Departments, and Correllian Hubs that members of the Tradition can join.