Ordination

A general chapter, under the presidency of the Master or vicar of the Order, shall be conducted in the following manner:

1. on the day before the commencement of the chapter: 
   1. the credentials of the voters shall be examined by three of the brothers designated by the president. Serious difficulties shall be referred to the voters of the chapter;
   2. at least two secretaries shall be appointed by the president and they may be assisted by other secretarial staff;
   3. three revisers shall be designated from the voters with the consent of the chapter. It will be their task to verify in due time the texts that have been approved;
   4. the president, having consulted the chapter, shall confirm the allocation already made of chapter members to the various commissions, which may be modified if he deems it opportune.
2. The chapter shall begin with the celebration of the Mass of the Holy Spirit. After the homily, in the prayer of the faithful, petitions shall be made for the successful outcome of the chapter and for the living and the dead.
   1. In the first plenary session of the general chapter, the method of procedure shall be discussed;
   2. the commissions begin their work. The chairman of each commission, having heard the preference of the other members, shall appoint a secretary from among the voters or other participants who shall record accurately the minutes of the commission; a commission shall conduct and conclude all business by public or secret votes; the chairman of a commission shall report to the president of the chapter as well as to the chapter itself in plenary sessions. The written resolutions of each commission shall be distributed to all the voters as well as the other participants before the plenary sessions;
   3. the Master shall give a report on the state of the Order;
   4. the Master shall give a report on his personal receipts and expenses to the commission on economic administration which shall inform the chapter about it;
   5. in an elective chapter, the election of the Master of the Order shall be conducted on the fifth day from the beginning of the chapter;
   6. the voters with the Master shall discuss chapter matters and shall make decisions by majority vote; there shall be a secret vote when the president or a significant number of the voters request it. If the votes are equal, the matter shall be remitted for further examination and a new vote. If the voting is still equal, the president of the chapter shall break the tie with his vote. Questions shall be resolved by way of admonition, declaration, or ordination, and if a new constitution is to be formulated, this shall be done without ambiguity;
   7. voters may propose questions for discussion even while the chapter is under way, and they shall determine the schedule for discussing them;
   8. within two days after every session, the minutes as well as the approved texts verified by the revisers shall be set out in a suitable place so that they can be examined by all. If a doubt is raised about an approved text, the revisers shall refer the matter to the chapter as soon as possible;
   9. the time and place of the next chapter shall be noted in the acts;
   10. during the chapter, the acts shall be prepared and signed by the president, the revisers, and the secretaries.
3. If the Master happens to be away from the chapter, he shall appoint a vicar from among the vocals who will take his place in all matters.

Not later than two months before a general chapter, each prior provincial shall send to the Master of the Order an accurate report, approved by the provincial council, concerning
the state of the province. This report shall be in the form designed for this purpose by the general council in which the more serious problems and statistical aspects shall be set out clearly. A copy of this report shall be distributed to each of the voters at the chapter.

1. Once the chapter has been convoked, the brothers who have the right to do so shall send to the Master or vicar of the Order the petitions and questions which they wish to propose to the chapter.
2. The following, apart from the members of the chapter, may submit petitions and questions:
   1. all major superiors, the socii of the Master of the Order, and the procurator general;
   2. any chapter and council and also the moderator team of a centre of studies;
   3. any religious provided that his proposal is countersigned by at least five brothers who have active voting rights, or is presented by a member of the chapter who shall judge whether the petition ought to be submitted or not;
   4. monasteries or federations of our nuns; provincial or national councils of fraternities of St Dominic.
3. Councils general or federations of congregations aggregated to the Order may submit their requests and suggestions concerning the Dominican family to a general chapter.
4.  
   1. Questions to be submitted to the general chapter by those who have the right or authority to do so shall be sent to the Master of the Order six months before the chapter;
   2. they shall be set down briefly in Latin or a modern language accepted by the general council and submitted on as many separate pages as there are separate questions.
5.  
   1. The Master of the Order shall see to it that the questions mentioned in § IV, 1, assigned to different commissions according to differing material, are conveyed to each member of the chapter as soon as possible;
   2. members of these commissions are: brothers with voting rights in the chapter (as provided for in nn. 407 to 409-bis) and the socii of the Master of the Order (as provided for in n. 410);
   3. the voters shall at once let the Master of the Order know which three commissions they wish to belong to, in their order of preference, while acknowledging the Master’s right to arrange things freely according to the needs of the chapter;
   4. the Master of the Order shall then appoint the presidents of the commissions and inform the capitulars about the commission to which each has been assigned so that in the meantime they may study very carefully the questions which have been assigned to their own commission.

The Master of the Order shall appoint a secretary general of the chapter who shall have charge of everything that pertains to the preparation and organization of the chapter.

1. The place and time of a chapter shall be determined by the preceding chapter. The date assigned for the beginning of a chapter shall not be postponed or anticipated by more than six months except with the consent of a majority of the provinces.
2. A general chapter shall be convoked by the Master or vicar of the Order by circular letter eight months before the date assigned for holding the chapter. Prayers for the successful outcome of the chapter shall be requested in this letter.
3. When the office of Master of the Order falls vacant, an elective chapter shall be convoked within a month from the date of the vacancy. This time may be extended – but not beyond six months – if there is a grave reason and a majority of  the provinces consent.
4. With the consent of his council, the Master or vicar of the Order may, for a just cause, change the designated location for the next general chapter.

Whenever in letters or rescripts of the Master of the Order the term, by the authority of our office or some other phrase equivalent to it is used, it is to be understood to embrace both ordinary authority and any other kind of authority delegated to his office.

1. Conferences of priors provincial and regional priors as well as vicars shall be established according to nations or regions so that fraternal collaboration is truly organized and has a permanent character. These conferences shall meet regularly according to norms drawn up by the members of the entities and approved by the Master of the Order.
2. To foster these mutual relationships, the socii of the Master of the Order shall visit these regions frequently and remain there for some time. At an opportune time, they shall inform the Master of the Order and the general chapter about the activities and progress made there.

Brothers belonging to different provinces who work in a region where no province has been established, should seek to exercise their apostolic ministry collaboratively, and, if possible, under unified direction according to norms established by agreement between the provinces concerned. This way the work of evangelization will be exercised more fully and the foundation of a new province be gradually prepared. These norms shall be reviewed and evaluated every fourth year by those to whom they pertain so that they might be updated.

1. Where a province or vice-province has already been established and members of other provinces are sent there to exercise the apostolic ministry, their work must be regulated in collaboration with the province or vice-province of that territory; so that, united in the same spirit and the same life, they may cooperate effectively and have a coordinated apostolate in that territory, and so, mindful of the common good, they may promote the Order’s progress in that region.
2. To foster this cooperation, suitable norms shall be drawn up in writing between the province of the place and the province which has brothers ministering in those territories. These norms must have the consent of the chapter or council of each province and must be approved by the Master of the Order. They shall be reviewed and evaluated every fourth year by those involved so that they may be updated to meet the pastoral needs of the local Church.

If it happens that the provincial chapters of a region are held at the same time, their diffinitories may have a joint meeting for some days to promulgate common admonitions, declarations, or ordinations.