STATE OF THE ORDER
Feast of St Michael and all Angels - MMV

Members of the Order of Centurions, Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. On behalf of the Legion I am pleased to provide this State of the Order address as we come to the anniversary of the Order of Centurions, and the Internet Chapel of the Centurions. It is appropriate to recount the year past, and look to the future.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership in the Order currently stands at 102, with the addition of 75 members this in the past 12 months. Our members are predominantly from the United States, we have members from other countries as follows: Australia 1, Italy 2, Brazil 2, Canada 3, New Zealand 1, Germany 1, Britain 2, Slovakia 1, South Africa 1, Argentina 1, Romania 2. We have several members on active duty with serving their countries as Ambassadors of Christ from three different countries. We have at least 21 veterans, several of whom retired from the service. We have at least 29 ordained ministers - and numerous others who are propagating the Gospel though Christian organizations and service to the Church. There are seven who are designated as Honorary Tribunes and today 13 were enrolled in the Labarum Guard service arm of the Order with induction planned for the eve of the anniversay of the Battle of Saxa Ruba as Christ's Soldiers of the Labarum Guard.

FINANCES

Income: 276.22

* Donations of Cash: $271.23 (individual donations of: 125, 45, 100, 1, .23)
* Reimbursements: $4.99
Other In-kind Donations: Website value of about $60 Domain name about $15.
Labarum Guard Emblem Supplies: about $20


Outflow: 172.54

Charities: $100
Support to Hurricane Katrina Relief ($50 Second Harvest, $50 AAC Fund)

Expenses:
$72.54
* Supplies $44.82
* Postal: $9.42
* Office Supplies: $2.12
* Bank Fees (Checks) $15.85
* Pay Pal Fee: .33

Assets
Balance of General Fund: 103.68
Property: $0


Accounts: 
Checking =    84.56
Paypal =        .67
Petty Cash =  18.45
Total      = 103.68
(updated 9/29/06)

DEVOTION

This year we have introduced a series of sermons by John Chrysostom (so called Golden Throat, recognized as the greatest preacher of the Early Church). These sermons are some of the very earliest available to the Church. Unlike later recorded preachers, John did not use allusions to imagine things hidden in the scriptures, but used good exegesis to explain the scripture. These sermons, along with the historic collects originating in the 5th and 6th centuries, form the bedrock of the Orders Christian Year.

We have been blessed with translations of selected documents into Italian, a Litany of Prayer for centurions, and new prayers and hymns for the saints of the Order -- all of these have been contributed by the members.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

The order established the Honoray Tribune designation for those Christian soliers who had held military leadership positions and/or served in combat, and others who had made a significant contributions to the Church. We worked together to complete a design for a medal / ecclesiastical shield for the Order. Members may use this design currenly in any manner they wish and may make their own medals from the design. The Order also completed work on the concept of a Service Arm of the order based on virtues, sevice, and the example of Constantine's historic Labarum Guard and ordered the activation of a Provsional element on 28 October 2005.

FUTURE GOALS

* Grow in membership - We hope to grow by at least 100 new members in the coming year. This is a conservative goal in that our membership enrollment tripled in its second year from 26 to 102. Members who have found the order to have made a positive contribution to their devotional life and Christian walk are encouraged to join.

* Grow in internet visits to as a surrogate of evangelical outreach - avg 5,000 visits/mo. The visits have grown in the past year, peaking at about 4,000. But have generally averaged about 3,000.

* Test and Evaluate the Labarum Guard with the view of making it a permanent body for service. The Guard candidates have either pledged or made contributions of funds, in kind donations to the order, and donations and service to local activities.

* Set aside funds for the manufacture of commercial medals for the membership (about $600 needed). The Order will establish a separate fund for this specific objective and report on donations to it. This will be self-supporting effort as centurions will be asked to reimburse the Order for their medals at the current cost of production for and shipping and handling - with an invitation to make contributions to the Order's General Fund above the cost of the medal.

* Complete ancient homilies for each of the Sundays and Holy Days of the year.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Order has experienced a successful year of growth. Sermons and homilies by the ancients provide members with source documents of the great preachers of the Early Church. At the same time commentary on the source of the weekly prayers, based on Barbee and Zalh's work, is offered each Sunday. New prayers from various sources, to include original work of our members, have enriched and blessed our devotions and commemorations - as well as the new "centurions" that have been recommended by the membership.

We thank those who have made special efforts to assist the Order with its various projects and have made contributions to Order.

IN HOC SIGNO VINCES - TIME DEUM ET OPERARE IUSTITIAM


pax Christi,

Mark - Primus Pilus
in fide et in bello forte

Order of Centurions
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