DISCORDIANISM ACCORDING TO MALACLYPSE (THE YOUNGER) being Subject to change without notice TO: All Heretic Fringe & Protestant Persuasion Followers FROM: Your High Priest, Malaclypse (The Younger), K.C. SUBJECT: A more or less run-down of the DS, and a make-shift explaination of the enclosed TD To be a member of the Discordian Society, one must exhibit that he (she or it) is one of the following: a) a person of pro- found enlightenment or interest in Discordianism as a philosophical - religious approach to life, b) a person who is a manifestation of or lives in terms of The Principle of Discord ("Eristic Principle"), or c) a person who is a manifestation of or lives in terms of The Principle of Superficial Order Lying on a Solid Foundation of Chaos ("Eristesque Principle"). Non-Discordians (most people) are simply a mixture of the two Principles and 1) refuse to acknow- ledge it &/or 2) do not posses a Divine Degree of either. Any person who fits the definition of a Discordian, is a Discordian and belongs to The Society whether he likes it or not, and whether he knows it or not--there is some sort of classification he will fall into regardless. THE ERISIAN MOVEMENT is the Enlightened Understanding Esoteric Branch of the DS and has three divisions; two are active and one is administrative. Of the active, The Legion of Dynamic Discord represents the bulk of the religious fold, and is under the auth- ority of the Eristocracy (The House of the Apostles of Eris). A person becomes an Enlightened Discordian by joining the Legion as a Legionnaire, and at that point has the authority to call himself an Erisian Discordian, adopt a Sacred Name, and go about spreading Words of Wisdom as they are released from the Compilers of Truth--Esoteric. Once a Legionnaire, the fundamental step has been taken and you are in favor with Our Lady of Discord. a Legionnaire becomes a Disciple of Eris by doing some sort of Erisian activity; by converting five others to Discordianism he may recieve the title "Evangelist", by giving speeches before Great Groups of People he will become "Grand Orator", etc., etc. A regular Legionnaire is not responsible to a Disciple, but Disciple- hood is certainly of higher status. The House of The Apostles of Eris, as the elite of the hier- archy, is composed of Episkoposes ("Eristocrats"). An Episkopos has authority over The Legion but not over other Episkoposes--[unless] he is a High Priest, in which case he has authority over his [follow-] ers (be they Legionnaire, Disciple, or Episkopos) in all matters pertaining to his sect. The Golden Apple Corps (Keepers of The Sacred Chao) has absolute authority over everything but in [general] will not overrule an Episkopos; for an Episkopos becomes an [Epis-] kopos because The Corps has faith in his discretion. The [Compilers] of Truth-Esoteric is the creative branch; one becomes a Compiler by authoring a Holy Work of some sort or writing Erisian Words [of] Wisdom. Any member of The House is an Episkopos; but an [Episkopos] may also be a Keeper Of The Sacred Chao (if he happens to be [one of] the two founders of the DS), a High Priest (if he happens to [have] the sufficient understanding of the Erisian Mysteries to be [able to] guess, on his own, how he may become a High Priest--which is the only secret to be found in the DS), or a Compiler of Truth--[Esoteric]