The Monastery

[Lord Keith]

Do you think I should get it up and running?post

[King James I]

Yes. Providing you keep interested in the political movements of the nation. Whilst we are fighting in the battle against political inactivity, we need as many citizens as possible, particularily ones that put forward ideas such as yourself.

[Lord Keith]

I do not intent on giving up on any political beliefs in order to follow any religious beliefs. I would like to start building the Monastery if that is ok but I would need the space on the boards to do this

[King James I]

You have my blessing, tell me what boards you need and I'll create them for you.

[Lord Keith]

I think on the main board we should have a thread for religion in general then We should have the abbey of Jamzinia and the monastery should be attached to the abbey.

[Elizabeth]

Could you give us a little more info on how it would work please Keith? Sounds interesting though

[Lord Keith]

The Order of Colliam
This order shall be in no way considered as a religious belief but as a guide to the monks and priors serving the Jamzinian Priory. It is written to give them a guide line as to how to live their daily lives whilst providing them with a code of conduct and as a means to help them make any decisions that stand before their daily duties.

The Guides and Beliefs
Any person who becomes a member of the Priory must at all times act within the basic Rule of Saint Benedict although the monks of the Colliam Order have certain aspects of this rule removed it is our basic code of conduct and any alterations within will be written in the pages of the Order of Colliam. Under no circumstance should the rule of saint Benedict be ignored unless already stated. If a monk were to find anything in regards to a contradiction of terms between the rule and the order that has not been addressed within the order they should consult the prior whom will rectify the instance hence fore.
The Bible in itself is the most important book to any monk of the Order and is second to non. It should never be ignored and in any instance, way, shape or form and a copy of the psalm should be carried by any member of the establishment as a good guide to dealing with any obstacle presented to the member. It would be looked upon as good practice for any member to help citizens with understanding of the bible and should wish them to do so.
It would also be good practice for the members to discuss to the general public of Jamzinia the chance to join the Priory but not to the point of pushing them as this would be viewed as bad practise

Becoming an Oblate
The order recruits as follows, any persons approaching the Priory would first speak to the Prior who would consider the person as an applicant to the establishment. If the prior felt that the person had full and good intentions of becoming part of the establishment then the Prior would invite the person to become an Oblate. An Oblate would be considered a temporary part of the Monastery and would be guided daily by the prior on his duties. This is so that if people felt that they had done wrong as a Citizen of Jamzinia and felt working for the Priory as a means of showing god that they were wanting to better themselves then after 30 days as a Oblate they could go back to being a Citizen. However after the 30 days of guidance from the prior the Oblate would be able to ask to become a member of the priory themselves.

The prior would asking Oblates after 30 days service if they would like to consider the possibility of joining the priory on a permanent basis. If the Oblate felt it was a choice they would like to take then a 7 day programme would have to be adhered to were the prior would place an Oblate along side a monk or even the prior himself and the Oblate would be expected to work along side the member of the monastery and pray in the chapter house at 0500hrs and 2300hrs on top of the days prays that are part of the daily schedule. After the 7 day period the Prior would speak to the Oblate and review his situation, after which the Prior would take the Oblate to the head of the Jamzinian church were the Oblate would swear allegiance to God, King, Citizens and Prior.

Becoming a monk
After completing a period of being an Oblate and gaining the position of monk persons are expected to live a life of discipline and value. Monks would be expected to live a seven day schedule which would run as follows.

0700hrs morning pray. All members of the establishment are to attend this meeting unshaven, unwashed and unfed this is so we can thank god for providing us with what we need to help get us through the day ahead.

0730hrs breakfast time. This is the time of day to have breakfast, wash and get ready for duties that lay ahead.

0830hrs First orders. Members of the Priory will report to the Chapter House to say a quick pray before being told by the Prior what duties they are to complete that day.

1130hrs. Noon Pray. At this time members that are on duties within the Priory report to the chapter House and say a quick pray before going to lunch.

1200hrs Lunch. Having a meal in the refectory which should be eaten in silence.

1300hrs Afternoon pray. A quick thank you for lunch and a chance for the prior to give further duties to members.

1600hrs evening pray. A thank you for the evening meal served in the refectory with all members and families of the establishment invited.

1630hrs evening meal. A meal for all members and their families to enjoy together. There will be no silence expected during this meal.

1730hrs final pray. This is the time of day for all members of the Monastery to say any final prays of the day within the Chapter House and for the Prior to inform members of any duties that may need to be carried out through the evening and into the night.

Any person choosing to live his life by this order whether he be an Oblate, monk or prior should show his respect and look up to these people as follows.

God
King
Citizen
Priory Superior

He should live his day with the up most respect for any persons or living being that he should come into contact with. Never should he consider to take life away from any one at all and only consider taking the life of another creature if it is for food. With this in mind the only Creatures that should be considered as food shall be fish, pigeons, pigs, sheep and cows. Any other creature should not be taken into consideration unless there is real reason to be considering them in the first instance and never should a human being be taken into consideration as they are gods special servants provided to the earth to look after gods other creatures. Also Poultry such as chickens should be seen as a delicacy and would only be taken into consideration if offered by the King himself.

Other foods that should be consumed be the priory member would be Pigeon eggs, Potatoes, breads, fruits and vegetables. Whilst drinking water and milk would be considered a good conduct. The member may also be given a drink of wine as a treat on special occasions such as Christmas but should never indulge in an alcoholic beverage of their own accord.

One should never be proud of ones self but should only take pride in ones nation as the national motto suggests. Being proud of god is also another instance were a member would be okay to feel pride but should also remember other sorts of pride could be considered a selfish act and would therefore be looked at badly by other members of the Monastery.


Whilst being able to marry a member of the Priory would provide his whole attentions to the act of god during the day from the hours of 0700hrs until 1730hrs and would live on the grounds of the Priory with his family. Whilst his family would be able to enjoy forms of media such as television or radio it would be considered good practise for a member of the priory to read and educate ones self in a separate room.
Also members are not expected to participate with lent in the usual way of not eating during day light hours but instead should refrain from shaving of the facial hair during this period as this would provide the servant with an irritating feeling that helps remind ones self of the suffering Jesus went though whilst having the energy and strength to help build Jamzinia as a nation. Whilst it is not expected, if a member of the establishment felt he had done wrong during the twelve months before and felt it his duty to participate with lent then The Prior would ask him to stay within the Priory and to participate with lent in the usual ways. Also if the Prior felt that a member would benefit from participating in lent to help with self discipline the Prior may suggest participation.


Members would also be expected to live their lives around the order of st. Benedict although certain aspects of this would be overlooked. The first aspect would be of marriage as members of the Priory will be able to marry as it would be considered bad practice to expect any person in Jamzinia not to be able to produce offspring and therefore would be able to help our nation grow

Also any monk living by the belief should wear black at all times and should hold faith in the Christian Religion as a whole. There should be no opinion held over any aspect of the Religion and if a member felt he did hold one should ask the Prior for help with this opinion. It to would also be considered good conduct to respect every aspect of every other religion as a whole and not to hold opinions on this issue either.

As a whole the Monastery created for and within Jamzinia is to serve the nation whilst offering the people of Jamzinia the chance to live within this way of life. It is set up to do good and to provide the nation with a service which in full should be selfless whilst asking god to help the member whilst completing such tasks. It should be set up as a strict way of life that encourages self discipline and any one member should not hold opinion but instead converse and discuss with fellow members of the establishment ideally in the cloister garden and then come to a conclusion of outcome whilst always in the company of the prior for such debates. Never should such instances get heated but instead be fruitful discussions that help the greater good of the priory and future generations whilst remembering that it is going to help the nation also as a whole. Much good will come of such discussions and in no circumstance should the prior not write such decisions into the order itself.

The Order of Colliam in itself is for education and guidance of monks, members of the Monastery and Jamzinian Citizens also. It is written to help with day to day decision making and is not to be set in stone as such but be constantly altered and updated by the head of the Priory and indeed the head of the Jamzinian Church. This is so that the Order can grow and become more detailed enabling it to grow and offer more assistance to anybody who should look at it for guidance. It should never be rewritten or changed by a single individual but as a collective of the establishment so greater opinion be sourced for the writing which would in turn bring a better collection of thoughts and ideas. Although the Order is not to be set in stone anything that is upon it shall be adhered to and if some instance should not be covered then it is up to members of the establishment to rectify anything that such occur as a collective.

The King himself with insert Royal Charters into the Order which will help the Order evolve. The King will be welcomed on Royal visits to the Priory and should be seen as a Senior member of the Church of Jamzinia . The King should be welcomed to evening meals and may take it upon himself to offer gifts of food should he choose to do so.

The prior is to be seen not as such a superior in person but as in understanding of the order. Never should the prior himself use his position as power over the monks but as a knowledgeable person who can help monks complete their tasks whilst himself also completing tasks and works such as farming, fishing and so forth. It will be the priors duty to enter writing into the Order of Colliam but not in ways as so to benefit himself but the establishment as a whole. This should be done first with discussion and should seek assistance and debate from monks to do so. Oblates should not be at such discussions but first have sub discussions so that as to discuss interests with their monk as to whom they have been assigned. If the prior see fit he would then invite an Oblate into a discussion so as to get better idea of the proposal whilst not over crowding the discussion as to were it could reach the point of a heated debate.

There shall always be structure to the personnel inside the establishment of the Monastery. There shall always be a Prior, there should be up to 4 monks although if it was needed more could be taken into consideration but no more than 16 if so many were available then the monastery should change in existence from Priory to Abbey and prior to Abbot. Whilst 2 priors should be positioned under the abbot and he should be in charge of writings into the order. Assuming one day the establishment were to reach this size the abbot could consider the option of sending a prior and 4 monks to establish a new Priory somewhere else within Jamzinia with the approval of the King himself. Monks themselves would in turn expect to help up to 4 Oblates at any one time with their tasks.

[Lord Keith]

In this picture you can see how a monastery is set out. Instead of us having an east and west range. Our west Range would be known as the refectory and our East range would be the monks accomadation.

In the next picture beneath the photograph is taken from the Church or chapter house roof. To the left is the monks accomadation and to the right is the refectory. Looking straight on ground level is the enterence, next to that is the scripturium were the Prior would update the order and above that is the Priors personal room.