BYLAWS OF HELLENOTAMIAI DEMOS OF HELLENION

ARTICLE I. NAME

The name of this Demos shall be Hellenotamiai, which (according to the Liddell & Scott dictionary) were stewards of the Greeks. The logo shall be as found in the upper left of this document and the motto shall be: What has once happened will never be undone. (a quote from Simonides).

ARTICLE II. OBJECT

The objectives of this Demos shall be to provide fellowship and research support for Hellenic Polytheists within the Washington, DC metro area (including southern Maryland, northern Virginia and the District of Columbia); and to promote discussions of Hellenic Polytheist religious practices in modern times; and to define application of Hellenic values related to life style, family and community life; and to recreate public and private Hellenic festivals.

ARTICLE III. MEMBERS

Section 1. Membership Eligibility and Admission Procedure

Anyone with the desire to honor the Immortal Olympians in a respectful manner, or to associate with and support the membership, may become a member, regardless of ethnic origin, color, creed, social status, sexual orientation or physical ability.

The Demos shall not direct people how to worship or whom they can associate with in their private lives. However, when representing the Demos or when at group functions, people shall be expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the rules of the Demos. Those types of conduct not covered in the rules are still expected to be within the Demos consensus.

(a) Membership Types

(i) Regular Member

Only those Demos members, who are adult members of the Hellenion organization, maintain regular contact with the Demos and provide an equal amount of resources to the group efforts, shall be considered Regular Members of the Demos. Regular Members shall have an equal vote in group-decisions and shall not be charged extra for group benefits such as classes, festivals and publications. Each Regular Member shall be required to provide current contact information to the Grammateus. Members personal information shall be considered confidential and shall not be divulged without a court order or the members written consent.)

(ii) Minor Members

Demos members, who are minor members of the Hellenion organization, maintain regular contact with the Demos and provide resources for group efforts equal to other minor members, shall be considers Minor Members of the Demos. Minor Members shall not have a vote in group-decisions and they shall not be charged extra for group benefits such as classes, festivals and publications. Minor Members who wish to attend festivals and Demos events may be required to give advance notice of their attendance so that arrangements can be made for age related legal issues.

(iii) Associate Members

Those with a desire to support and participate in Demos activities but are unwilling or unable to become a member of Hellenion, shall be referred to as Associate Members. The only advantage of Associate Membership is participation in the email list for discussions and event notifications.

(iv) Guests

Guests shall be allowed to attend most of the Demos functions when invited by a member. The sponsoring member shall be responsible for the actions of any invited guests. Guests shall not have voting privileges and may be charged a fee to cover the costs of events or festivals that they attend.

(v) Inactive or Disciplinary Members

Members who repeatedly demonstrate disrespect of others beliefs, disrespect of the goals and methods of Hellenotamiai, or participate in other disruptive and inflammatory behavior or remarks, shall be restrained however possible until a disciplinary review can be held by the other members. Upon a vote by two-thirds of the membership, the disciplinary member shall be removed from all contact with the Demos and barred from all events.

Members who do not participate in discussions or preparations of events, for the previous quarter (three months) shall have only those privileges allowed an Associate Member until they once again begin to participate.

Section 2. Initiation Fee and Dues

There shall not be initiation fees or membership dues at this time. Regular Members are expected to contribute an equal amount of resources and effort to Demos activities and goals. The Tamias shall notify those who repeatedly demonstrate the desire to participate without contributing their fare share and, if they continue, the member shall face disciplinary action as described above.

ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS

Section 1. Officers and Duties

The officers of the Demos shall be Demarkhos (Demos leader and public contact), Grammateus (secretary), and Tamias (treasurer). These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Demos.

Section 2. Nomination and Election

All officer candidates shall be nominated at a regular meeting at least one month prior to the election. Officer candidates shall be regular members who accept the nomination. Officers shall remain in office until they step down or are voted out of office.

Any Regular Member may request a vote to have a General Election. If the membership demonstrates by a simple majority the desire to have a General Election, nominations shall be taken for all offices at a regular meeting and a vote shall be taken at the following meeting.

A special election shall be held whenever any officer is unwilling or unable to perform the duties of their office. During a special election, nominations and votes are only taken for the effected office.

(a) Demarkhos

While it is recommended that all members remain aware of the decisions of Hellenion national and the local Demos, it shall be the ultimate responsibility of the Demarkhos to inform members of issues that affect them. Members are free to inform others of their association with the Demos and with Hellenion but the Demarkhos shall be the primary contact and representative of the Demos. It shall be the responsibility of the Demarkhos to prepare meeting agendas and to ensure the reports to Hellenion are prepared in a timely manner.

(b) Grammateus

It shall be the responsibility of the Grammateus to prepare meeting minutes, to keep member contact and status information, to arrange for members to be informed of meetings and events, to prepare publications and to prepare the annual reports to Hellenion.

(c) Tamias

It shall be the responsibility of the Tamias to provide monthly financial status reports to the membership and annual financial status reports to Hellenion. These shall include membership dues paid, contributions received (including details on any restricted contributions), and other receipts and expenditures. At minimum, these reports shall include a statement of financial position (balance sheet) and a statement of financial activity (income and expense report).

Section 3. Office-Holding Limitations

All officers shall be Regular Members of the Demos and members-in-good-standing of Hellenion. All officers shall not be from the same household.

Section 4. Hellenion Requirements

A demos of Hellenion is required to submit an annual report to Hellenion (due each July 1st) containing names of officers (highlighting any changes), a treasurers report, meeting minutes, ritual outlines and publications that we have used within the year. These shall be prepared by the Grammateus and Tamias and assembled by the Demarkhos to be sent to Hellenion in a timely manner. Once the Demos has the required membership, a Bouleutai shall be elected to represent the demos membership.

ARTICLE V. MEETINGS

Attendance at public and semi-public Demos activities shall not be denied to any person on the basis of race, ancestry, color, physical disability (except as mentioned elsewhere in this article), age, gender, or affection orientation, but may be denied to individuals practicing creeds inimical to Neopagan Hellenic Reconstructionism. inimical creeds are defined as varieties of conservative monotheism, atheism, demonism, racialism, or other such faiths and practices as shall be determined by the Officers. All organizers of public and semi-public Demos activities shall make strenuous efforts to facilitate the participation of differently-abled individuals. Nonetheless, such activities as the Officers of the Demos may designate may be held in places naturally inaccessible to some.

Section 1. Regular Meetings

The regular meetings of the Demos shall be held on the first Saturday of each month unless otherwise ordered by the Demos. Members shall be notified of the meeting location by email one week and one day prior to the meeting. Regular Meetings shall be open to the public unless otherwise specified. Non-members who would like to attend can be notified by providing contact information to the Grammateus.

Section 2. Special Meetings

(a) Educational Meetings

As they become available and upon request by the membership, study courses (from the Adult Education and Adult Continuing Education series provided by Hellenion) shall be taught to interested members. With the exception of the cost of educational materials, these courses will be free of charge to Regular Members.

(b) Social and Emotional Support Meetings

Up to once each month, members of the demos shall be invited to meet for a social event. Possible examples include: dinner, movies, local events, sight seeing, etc. These social events may be before or after the monthly business meeting or a religious festival but they shall be entirely social and separate from the meeting or festival.

(c) Guest Friendship

More experienced members are encouraged to host one or two newer members as dinner guests once a month to provide guidance, address any issues and to generally increase feelings of trust, comfort, and belonging among the members. This is, however, voluntary and is paid for by the host member.

(d) Festivals and Life Cycle Rituals

Since the ritual practices of the ancient Hellenes varied a great deal, the Demos shall focus on the beliefs of the culture in and around Athens during the Classical period. The main pantheon that the Demos shall worship includes: Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Hera, Hermes, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus. Most of the Demos festivals and rituals shall be conducted in English with the exception of small parts that remain the same at every ritual. These frame rituals may use Modern Greek words when no adequate English equivalent can be found or to add atmosphere to the ritual. Whenever Greek words are used, the meaning and pronunciation shall be provided.

Prior to fulfilling a clerical function in a Demos festival or ritual, a person must be clear of miasma (pollution). Any such person who cannot fulfill these requirements due to health reasons or other reasons, must undergo a through cleansing ritual. Being clear of miasma is defined as:

Fasting from sunset on the day before the ritual until the ritual starts.
Only drinking water from sunset on the day before the ritual until the ritual starts.
Abstaining from sex from sunset on the day before the ritual until the ritual starts.
Taking a ritual bath and wearing clean clothes as close as possible prior to setting up the temenos (sacred space).

Members not having clerical duties must also be clear of miasma as follows:

Taking a ritual bath and wearing clean clothes as close as possible prior attending.
Perform a ritual washing of hands when entering the temenos (sacred space).

(e) Festival Calendar

(i) Panathenaia

28th Hecatombaion / mid July; Athenas Birthday; honoring Athena; theme keyword community; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 33 and Old Stones, New Temples page 226

(ii) Eleusinion

13th-22nd Boedromion / early September; Eleusian Mysteries of Demeter; honoring Demeter, theme keyword initiation; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 55 and Old Stones, New Temples page 234

(iii) Apturia

Chosen by clan in Pyanopsion / mid September to mid October; Celebration and recognition of kinships by blood or spirit; honoring Athena Phratria & Zeus Phratrios; theme keyword kinship; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 88 and Old Stones, New Temples page 247

(iv) Chalkeia

30th Pyanopsion / mid October; Celebration and recognition of handicraft skills; honoring Hephaestus & Athena; theme keyword handicrafts; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 92 and Old Stones, New Temples page 245

(v) Country Dionysia / Lenaia

Chosen by neighborhood in Poseideion / mid November to mid December; Celebration of neighbors and the lightening of mood during the winter months; honoring Dionysos; theme keyword amusement; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 100, Old Stones, New Temples page 255

(vi) Anthesteria

11th-13th Anthesterion / late January; Celebration of the new wine vintage and recognition of ancestors; honoring Dionysos, Hermes & Hekate; theme keyword ancestry; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 107, Old Stones, New Temples page 265

(vii) Diasia

23rd Anthesterion / early February; Prayers to ward off poverty; honoring Zeus Meilichios; theme keyword sustenance; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 120, Old Stones, New Temples page 272

(viii) City Dionysia

9th-13th Elaphebolion / late February; Celebration and recognition of the performing arts; honoring Dionysos; theme keyword performance; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 125 and Old Stones, New Temples page 279

(ix) Thargelia

6th-7th Thargelion / mid April; Redemption for past misdeeds and purification of self; honoring Apollo & Artemis; theme keyword purification; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 146 and Old Stones, New Temples page 289

(x) Plynteria & Kallynteria

25th Thargelion / early May; Cleaning and renewal of sacred items and areas; honoring Athena; theme keyword renewal; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 152, Old Stones, New Temples page 292

(xi) Skirophoria

12th Skirophorion / late May) Planning for the new year; honoring Demeter, Athena, Poseideon, Dionysos; theme keyword planning; refer to Festivals of the Athenians page 156 and Old Stones, New Temples page 295

ARTICLE VI. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

The rules contained in Robert´s Rules of Order Newly Revised 10th Edition (ISBN 0-7382-0307-6) shall govern the Demos in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Demos may adopt.

ARTICLE VII AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the demos by a two-thirds vote, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing at the previous regular meeting.