Meaning of the Insignia Ritual Overview, Guidelines and Best Practices

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Meaning of the InsigniaRitual Overview,
Guidelinesand Best Practices
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• Procul O Procul
• Este Profani

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Our Ritual Ceremonies

• Opening Ceremony
• Closing Ceremony
• Formal Pledging Ceremony
• Initiation Ceremony
• Installation of Officers Ceremony
• Graduation Ceremony
• Memorial Service
• Burial Ceremony

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Key Ritual Authors

• Noble Leslie DeVotie (Founder)
• John Barratt Rudulph (Badge)
• William Leslie French (Coat-of-Arms)
• Dean Taylor (1910 Revision)
• John O. Moseley (Ceremonies)
• John Walter Wayland (The True Gentleman)
• Permanent Ritual Committee (Ongoing revisions)

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Elements within our Ritual

• Our Name
• Phi Alpha
• Coat-of-Arms
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Badge
• Pledge Pin
• Minerva and the Lion
• Unwritten signs and passwords
• The True Gentleman
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Flag
• The Phoenix The Manual of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
• The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Songbook

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The Initiation Ceremony

• Neophyte Entry
• Original Constitution (1856)
• Cleansing
• Oath
• Preceptor (Insignia Instruction)
• Four Quarters
• Purple Border Charged with 22 Fleurs-de-lis
• Fimbriated Cross of Silver
• Casque with Purple Plumes
• Crest Surmounting the Escutcheon

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Initiation Ceremony (continued)

• Inescutcheon
• Our Name
• Our Guiding Motto
• Badge
• Minerva and The Lion
• Colors of Our Fraternity
• Knock
• Brother Grip
• Salute
• Mystic Circle

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Meaning of the Insignia Part I

• Neophyte Entry
• The True Gentleman (Brothers only)
• Constitution (The Recorder)
• Cleansing (The Chronicler)
• Membership Oath (Eminent Archon)
• Preceptor (Insignia Instruction)

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History of The True Gentleman

• Written by
• John Walter Wayland (The Baltimore Sun),
• But unattributed when discovered by
• Judge Walter B. Jones (Alabama Baptist
  Quarterly)
• Sent to
• John O. Moseley (Leadership School)
• Then attributed back to John Walter Wayland by
• Joseph Walt (reading the U.S. Naval Academy
  Blue Book)
• Posthumously initiated at the 2001 Fraternity
  Convention ,Orlando , Florida

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Part II The Coat-of-Arms

• Four Quarters
• Purple Border charged with 22 Fleurs-de-lis
• Fimbriated Cross of Silver
• Casque with Purple Plumes
• Crest surmounting the Escutcheon
• Inescutcheon
• Our Name
• Our Guiding Motto
• Sigma Alpha Epsilon Badge
• Minerva and the Lion
• Colors of Our Fraternity

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Part II The First Quarter
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Part II The Second Quarter
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Part II The Third Quarter
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Part II The Fourth Quarter
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Part II Purple Border / 22 Fleurs-de-lis
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Part II Fimbriated Cross of Silver
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Part II Casque with Purple Plumes
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Part II Crest surmounting the Escutcheon
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Part II The Scroll Beneath
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Part II Inescutcheon
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Part II Our Name
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Part II Our Guiding Motto
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Part II John Barratt Rudulphs Badge
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Part II Minerva and the Lion
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Part II Colors of Our Fraternity

• Royal Purple
• Old Gold
• Nazarene Blue
• White Ermine
• Red
• White
• Green
• Silver

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Meaning of the Insignia Part III

• Knock
• Brother Grip
• Salute
• Mystic Circle

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Power of these Insignia

• Truth
• Purity
• Reward

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Values from Our Ritual

• Character
• Commitment
• Integrity
• Truth
• Sincerity

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Historical Timeline Key Dates
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Historical Timeline Key Dates

• March 9, 1856 Constitution, Article I, Section
  1 read,
• The name of this Fraternity shall be .
• March 15, 1856 John Barrett Rudulphs Badge
  design officially ratified
• 1883 First printed copy of Ritual and
  Constitution
• 1892 Fraternity Laws added True man and a
  gentleman
• qualification
• 1894 Convention appointed William Leslie
  French
• (Trinity 1893) to design a Coat-of-Arms
• 1896 Convention adopted new Coat-of-Arms, the
  same one
• currently used today

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Historical Timeline Key Dates

• 1910 Convention adopted the revised Ritual
  incorporating
• Coat-of-Arms written by Dean Taylor (Mt. Union
  1902)
• 1910 Opening and Closing Ceremonies adopted
• 1947 Preceptor role introduced Formal
  Pledging Ceremony and
• Songs officially added, although sung
  since the 1920s
• 1949 Eminent Recorder and Eminent Chronicle
  parts created
• 1959 Memorial Service and Burial Ceremony
  added
• 1993 Graduation Ceremony adopted
• 2001 John Walter Wayland posthumously
  initiated as a
• Brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (Virginia 1899)
• 2005 The True Gentleman officially added to
  Opening
• and Initiation Ceremonies

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Guidelines for Proper Ritual Use
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Guidelines for Proper Ritual Use

• The initiation ceremony should be rehearsed, and
  parts should be memorized.
• The initiation ceremony, as well as all
  ceremonies, should be conducted with proper
  reverence and seriousness.
• Alumni should be invited by written invitation to
  formal pledging and initiation.
• The chapter should own and use all of the Ritual
  equipment listed on pages 68-71 in Ritual book.

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Guidelines for Proper Ritual Use

• Chapter Ritual books (eight copies) and equipment
  should be kept in a locked closet or room,
  maintained by the Eminent Herald and Eminent
  Preceptor.
• No alcoholic beverages should be present during
  any Ritual ceremony.
• Coat and tie (Badge Attire) should be required
  of all members, and proper decorum observed at
  formal pledging and initiation.
• Installation of Officers Ceremony should be
  conducted within two weeks of elections.

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Guidelines for Proper Ritual Use

• The Ritual should be used for the opening and
  closing of all chapter meetings.
• A post-initiation session should be conducted to
  enhance the understanding of the initiation
  ceremony and Fraternitys Ritual. This PowerPoint
  presentation is available for download from the
  Ritual tab at www.truegentlemaninitiative.net.
• The chapter should have knowledge and make use of
  the Fraternity songs and song book, which may be
  downloaded from the Ritual tab at
  www.truegentlemaninitiative.net.

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Ritual Best Practices
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Ritual Best Practices

• Inventory all Ritual equipment and robes once
  each semester
• Acquire air/water tight plastic storage boxes for
  all equipment divide Formal Pledging Ceremony
  items from Initiation Ceremony items, placing in
  separate boxes
• Obtain high-quality wooden hangers for all robes
  (not wire or flimsy plastic hangers)
• Hang all robes to fully air dry after each use
  (at least overnight)
• Store robes in large garment bags or garment
  caddies (avoid plastic dry cleaning bags)

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Ritual Best Practices

• Ritual books should always be officially signed
  out (critical policy) and logged to maintain a
  clear documentation record of their constant
  location.
• Develop a replacement budget and cycle for each
  item (equipment and robes)
• Consider developing a Ritual Team within the
  chapter and have members memorize roles
• Consider inviting an alumnus or multiple alumni
  to participate in the Initiation Ceremony (for
  instance, administering the Oath, the closing
  admonition, full part or scene shifter)

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Ritual Best Practices

• Consider inviting a past Eminent Archon to
  perform one of the two roles if an alumnus is not
  available
• Set Initiation and Formal Pledging dates early
  and invite area/chapter Sigma Alpha Epsilon
  alumni to attend all Ritual ceremonies
• Use all ceremonies in the Ritual book for the
  recommended occasion

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