When a Charter is granted by an ecclesial jurisdiction it marks the official founding of a new Jurisdiction. For example, a Presbyter who has been in the process, perhaps for months, maybe even years, of working to form a Fellowship, may receive a Charter from a Basileia Community that officially recognizes his work to have formed a Fellowship. Thus a Charter is simply a tool to recognize that a new Jurisdiction of Basileia has in fact been established so that it can in turn be recognized officially as such. In the same sense that an adult doesn’t need a Baptismal certificate to be born again, a Presbyter doesn’t "need" a Charter to form a Fellowship. But just as Baptismal certificate makes a believers accountability to the Church public, so a Charter granted by a Basileia Jurisdiction makes a newly formed Jurisdiction an official, public member of Basileia. Thus, a Charter is an orderly way of publicly recognizing an expression of the Church that already exists due to the work of Christ in building His Church. As such, Charters are simply a tool for creating and maintaining coordination, communication and unity in the Church.
Also see Founded, and Jurisdictions.
Below is an example of a Charter for the founding of the Basileia Fellowship of St. Brendan on March 8, 2015, written in the form of a Letter of Commissioning in regards to the founding Presbyter John Hunt. The Letter is written by the Basileia Community of St. John, the ecclesial jurisdiction to which the Fellowship of St. Brendan is membered. This Letter of Commissioning is not the only form that a Charter may take. This is just one way of issuing a Charter for a new ecclesial jurisdiction of Basileia.
