Appointment

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The following Imperial titles are appointed by the priests of the Synod:

• Cardinal of a Virtue Assembly, including the Assembly of the Way
• Gatekeeper, excluding the Assembly of the Way
• Virtue Inquisitor, including the Assembly of the Way
• Conscience of the Senate
• High Exorcist
• Imperial Inquisitor
• Imperial Chaplain Consular
• Seer of the Gateway
• Auditor of Senatorial Accountability
• Custodian of the Imperial War Memorial
• Voice of Barbs
• Curator of the Printer's Guild Museum

Appointment of the Cardinal

• Each Virtue Assembly selects one of their number to be the cardinal of that Assembly.
• Only members of the Virtue Assembly can become the cardinal.

The Civil Service will automatically raise a judgment of appointment at the start of the summit when the cardinal is due for annual reappointment. A judgment of appointment will also be automatically raised when the Civil Service becoming aware that the position of cardinal has become vacant due to death, revocation or the cardinal choosing to step down.

To appoint a cardinal, all candidates must make themselves known to an appropriate civil servant by a specified deadline on the judgment sheet, usually by 2pm on the Saturday of the summit. Once all candidates are known, then the members of the virtue assembly pass judgment in favour of the candidate they wish to be cardinal. They may, if they wish, elect to vote against one of the candidates, in which case the congregation strength is counted against the candidate's total.

The voting will typically close at 6pm on the Saturday of the summit. These times may differ if an unscheduled appointment is required but will require a minimum of four hours for nominations and four hours for voting.

There is a deadline by which members of the Assembly have to render their judgment. After that time, the candidate with the most support is declared cardinal.

Reappointment Schedule
Winter Solstice	The Way & Prosperity
Spring Equinox	Ambition & Vigilance
Summer Solstice	Courage & Wisdom
Autumn Equinox	Loyalty & Pride

Appointment of the Gatekeeper

The cardinal of a Virtue Assembly - excluding the Assembly of The Way - has the right to appoint a member of their assembly as gatekeeper. The gatekeepers control access to the Labyrinth of Ages by dint of overseeing distribution of the pure liao prepared by the Imperial Civil Service. The cardinal may not name themselves as gatekeeper, and it is frowned upon to name a gatekeeper from the same nation as the cardinal.

The gatekeepers are given pure liao to distribute to those deemed worthy, or otherwise ready to experience a vision from one of their past lives. They are distributed by collective decision of the gatekeepers as they deem most fitting.

Every time a new cardinal is elected, be it by the scheduled annual election or the existing cardinal stepping down, dying or being revoked then the cardinal may choose to replace or retain the existing gatekeeper.

Once appointed the cardinal cannot choose to simply remove their appointed gatekeeper from office. The gatekeeper remains in position until either their position is revoked, or until a new cardinal is elected and chooses to replace them. A gatekeeper can be revoked by their respective Virtue Assembly or by the General Assembly.

Appointment of the conscience

The cardinal of the Assembly of The Way may appoint a layperson of virtue to a specially designated seat in the Imperial Senate created during the reign of Empress Varkula to serve as the Senate's conscience. The cardinal may not appoint themselves to the post, and it is frowned upon to name a conscience from the same nation as the cardinal. The cardinal may appoint a member of their Assembly but they will lose their Synod membership as a result.

The conscience may hold the seat for no longer than a year, or until there is a new cardinal of the Way is appointed and chooses to name a replacement.

No person may hold the seat of the conscience more than once in a single lifetime.

Appointment of the Virtue Inquisitor

The Imperial title of Virtue Inquisitor was established by a vote of the Imperial Senate in Summer 379YE. There are eight virtue inquisitors in total - one for each of the virtue assemblies, and one for the assembly of the Way.

Each virtue inquisitor is appointed by the cardinal of their respective virtue assembly, in the same manner as Gatekeeper.

As with gatekeeper, a virtue inquisitor retains their title until they die, step down, are revoked, or until a new cardinal of their assembly is appointed and chooses to name a replacement.

A virtue inquisitor may be revoked by their respective Virtue Assembly, or by the General Assembly.

Other Synod-Appointed Titles

The other current Imperial titles appointed by the Synod are done so in a manner similar to cardinal.

The Civil Service will automatically raise a judgment of appointment at the start of the summit if the Imperial Title is due for annual reappointment. A judgment of appointment will also be automatically raised when the Civil Service becoming aware that the position becoming vacant due to death, revocation or the holder choosing to step down.

Title	Appointed By	Renews
High Exorcist	Assembly of Nine	Winter Solstice
Imperial Inquisitor	Assembly of Nine	Summer Solstice
Imperial Chaplain Consular	Cardinal of The Way	Spring Equinox
Seer of the Gateway	Assembly of Nine	Until death, revocation or abdication
Auditor of Senatorial Accountability	Assembly of Nine	Until death, revocation or abdication
Voice of Barbs	Navarr National Assembly	Winter Solstice
Custodian of the Imperial War Memorial	Assembly of Nine	Sinecure; until death, revocation or abdication
Curator of the Printer's Guild Museum	Cardinal of Prosperity	Sinecure; until death, revocation or abdication. When a new Cardinal of Prosperity is appointed they may choose to name a replacement.