Clergy

Becoming a recognized Clergy person in The Center Path is a calling. It carries with it responsibilities beyond performing handfastings and house-blessings. It is not a business proposition as online ordinations are often used to facilitate.

A Priest or Priestess of The Center Path must be available to the community whenever possible. This includes visiting the ill in hospital, performing funeral rites and simply listening when someone needs to talk, or holding the hand of someone as they pass.

These are not glamorous tasks, but they are something that is increasingly missing in many communities.

Because our clergy will be working, at times, with those who are vulnerable, all those ordained will go through a criminal background check. Those having been convicted of felonies involving other people (sex crimes, theft, assault, etc.) will not be ordained unless such crimes are annulled by a court.

Becoming ordained will require the completion of a course of study, after which a ceremony will take place.

All clergy will take vows. These vows are to promote the love of the Gods and Goddesses in all their wokings, to uphold honor and truth in their lives, to treat all persons with dignity, and to not divulge what has been told them in confidence save when to do so places another in danger.

Requirements for Ordination

Any individual, 18 or older, who has completed the required course of study may petition for ordination.

That person shall be of good character, and as testament to that character shall provide 2 letters of reference.

They shall submit to a criminal background check, and have no felony convictions of crimes against other persons.

Any pending charges must be resolved prior to acceptance.

If such a crime has been committed, the candidate may petition the courts for annulment and the candidate will be reconsidered if that petition is successful.

Crimes, not against other persons, such as possession or use of narcotics, DWI (not resulting in accidents or personal injury) will not disqualify an individual so long as they are not presently engaged in such behavior. Active addiction to substance though, is not acceptable among the priesthood.

All candidates must demonstrate community involvement through work with the Church or other works of charity such as volunteering with non-profit organizations.

A period of at least 6 months is required from statement of intention to ordination in order to give the candidate time to reflect.

Ordination

The ordination ritual will be designed, jointly, by the candidate and the High Priestess or High Priest, reflecting the traditions of The Center Path, and the personality of the candidate. The ceremony will take place with a rising Sun and a waxing or full moon.

Suspension from office

Due to the seriousness of sex crimes, any clergy person, charged with a sex crime will be suspended from office until such time that those charges are cleared. Any clergy person charged with other crimes will have those charges reviewed by church leaders and appropriate actions taken to protect the church and the membership.

If criminal charges for sex crimes are dropped due to lack of evidence, the church leadership will make its own determination as to whether this individual is a risk to others.

If the clergy person is duly cleared of all charges, and are not deemed to be a threat to others, they may remain in office, but may be monitored.

Removal from office

Any clergy person convicted of crimes against another person, including sex crimes, murder, attempted murder, theft, criminal assault and so forth, will automatically be removed from office.

Excommunication

Excommunication is the recognition, by the church, that the person in question is no longer in communion with the church. If a priestess or priest begins teaching things that are contrary to the teachings of The Center Path, then, by their actions, they are no longer in communion with The Center Path. Thus, conversion to another faith is not compatible with priesthood in The Center Path.

This does not mean that a person cannot be members of other pagan organizations, or even that one cannot be a clergy person in another organization. But the teachings offered in the course of duties as a priestess or priest of The Center Path must not be contrary to the teachings of The Center Path.