Q. How is the Holy Order governed, and what influence does it have on the local Colonies?

The Holy Order is essentially a microcosm of the old Israelite Confederacy, which will be the order of government in the Millennium. The Holy Order is patriarchal, meaning that it is governed by family heads. Each husband and wife is a patriarch and matriarch of his and her own family.

A new family entering the Holy Order will place itself under the authority of another patriarchal family until the father is sufficienly mature in the Gospel to stand as an independent patriarchal head himself. He becomes, as it were, an "apprentice patriarch". This is also true of the women, who become "apprentice matriarchs". The patriarch and matriarch over him and his wife become, as it were, spiritual fathers and mothers.

Patriarchal/matriarchal apprenticeship usually lasts until candidates have fulfilled various spiritual requirements. As a rule, it does not end before 30 years of age, and in practice often much later (around 40). Exceptionally stable and spiritual mature men and women may become patriarchs and matriarchs in their own right much earlier. Age is not a guarantor of special privileges in the Order.

The twelve colonies of the Holy Order represent the twelve tribes of Israel and have their own inheritance rights. Intermarriage can, and does, of course, occur between them.

The whole Holy Order is governed by a Presiding Patriarchate consisting of twelve patriarchs and matriarchs, viz. the presiding patriarch and matriarch of each of the twelve colonies. Each colony also has a Patriarchate, consisting of twelve patriarchs and matriarchs. These, in turn, are presided over by a patriarch and matriarch, who are two of the two qurorms of twelve. Patriarchs and matriarchs have different callings -- some are teachers, spiritual counsellors, administrators, apostles, revelators, judges, etc.. A patriarch or matriarch may have one or many callings. All are regarded as equal in authority, with the Presiding Patriarch having the final word over corporate decisions. The ideal of 100% unanimity is always striven for.

There are, therefore, in a fully functioning Order twelve patriarchs and twelve matriarchs who form two complementary bodies or quorums with both different as well as overlapping areas of responsibility. In areas of common responsibility they work together as a single quorum of twenty-four. The matriarchs are presided over by a Presiding Matriarch just as the patriarchs are by a Presiding Patriarch. Together these two represent the Presiding Patriarchate of a colony. There are twelve presiding patriarchs and twelve presiding matriarchs over the whole Holy Order, following the same pattern as the individual colonies. Members of the Presiding Patriarchate of 24 are approved by the unanimous decision of all its members.

The principle function of the Holy Order is to teach and nurchure holiness in the Lord. Its motto is Set Apart to Yahweh (Holiness to the Lord). As far as the local Colonies are concerned, the Order's function is to train up godly men and women for leadership positions, ensuring that they are mature in the Gospel, not recent converts (in the case of pastors), and living blameless lives. The calling of pastors is the responsibility of the apostles, who are then presented for the democratic approval of the congregations. Beyond that the Holy Order has no influence and individual Colonies govern themselves. There is a Local Colonial Patriarchate (consisting of a patriarch and a matriarch) who have the special responsibility of presiding over all local Colonies when required to do so. They may be called to preserve order when the lines of authority break down in a local congregation and are a back-up to the local apostle. Mostly, though, they exist to give fatherly and motherly council, to be peace-makers, and to bring a wise and mature spirit to bear over potentially troublesome congregations and situations.

The Holy Order therefore is seen to have two functions as far as the local Colonies are concerned: (1) To cultivate holiness in the leadership, and (2) to preserve order in the congregations. It is rather like the Upper House of many parliamentary democracies -- for example, the House of Lords in the British government or the Bundesrat in the German, though organised along theocratic lines.

This page was created on 2 May 1998 Last updated on 2 May 1998

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