On Orders and Enclaves
There have historically been only a few major Jedi Orders in the past – most notably the Jedi Order of the Old Republic and the New Jedi Order. These two thrived in their unique time periods, one for many millennia and the other for a couple hundred years or so.
In our more recent times, there have been many. To name a few: Jedi Honor, The Jedi Temple, The Jedi Alliance*, Jedi Masters/Jedi Guardians of Peace, New Order of Jedi, KOTOR, Jedi Unity, Telos Jedi Order, Corellian Jedi Order, The Potentium, Kalway Order of Jedi, Old Order of Jedi, Onderon Jedi Order, Dantooine Jedi, Ac’trayth, Jedi Knights of the Republic, Order of the Light, Innocense Order of Jedi, Ossus Praxeum, and many more. In as many years as the New Jedi Order of Master Skywalker’s time lasted, this galaxy has seen probably 50 or more orders.
With the exception of the Jedi Alliance, none have brought all the Jedi together as was done before.
There is merit to having separate orders. Different locations in the galaxy may have different common species and diverse methods of handling affairs and events. Further, masters may have an opinion on how to run the order differently than the main or other orders.
It is the opinion of this author that having more than one order is a serious mistake. Jedi around the galaxy are left picking one order over another. This may be because one allows marriage and another does not; this may be due to a relationship one Jedi had with another from a dissimilar order; or this may be in part affected by the location or general design of the temple of one particular order. A Jedi should have one place to go to find the path of the light and one advising council for guidance towards that light.
The cause for the disparate orders is due to one problem in this galaxy: ego. I do not say this lightly, as I have dear friends who run various orders and I would never wish to offend them or anyone. It is in no way each and every one of them at fault in this scenario. However, as an underlying principle, the Jedi of orders of old sought a better way of doing things, imagining their way would be better than the current one. This was attempted with the Jedi Alliance and, with one exception (JM/JGP did not fully merge and therefore succeeded on its own), none succeeded until the Jedi Alliance collapsed.
I am not saying we in the JA ran things the best way. I am not saying that I knew what was best for each and every Jedi in the galaxy. I am not saying I was the best master out there. However, I will defend until my union with the Force that we knew what was best for ‘most’ Jedi and we provided a single entry point, home, learning environment, and safe haven for all Jedi of the galaxy. And this is a critical part of becoming and continuing to be a Jedi – a safe place to learn and share ideas.
Enclaves and learning centers are an entirely different subject. In our distant past, we have seen academies and enclaves on Dantooine, Telos, Taris, Ossus, Coruscant, Yavin 4, and more. In our more recent times, we have seen an enclave for every order out there (see the above discussion). However, allowing Jedi to find a nearby location, and one that is more pleasing and comfortable for them, is a pragmatic and beneficial opportunity for all.
I therefore call all Jedi – adepts, initiates, padawans, knights, and masters alike – to put aside their egos, their pasts, their relationships, their ‘better way of doing things’, and come together to form a united Jedi order once again. Perhaps each order can maintain its uniqueness, practices, and rules, but a parent council lays down some basic guidance: basic code of conduct, listing of all orders and academies, assistance in developing and maintaining welcome centers, basic steps to Knighthood (learning guides), monthly meetings with the heads of each order, and so on. This guidance would be the goal of the central council, but each order would maintain its local control and rules.
To be honest, I do not think it can ever be done again. However, I welcome the attempt. As Jedi, we do not speak in absolutes and we do not shut down ideas, and therefore I will always have a hope that it can be done again. The Force will guide us to unity if it shall be in our destinies.
In our more recent times, there have been many. To name a few: Jedi Honor, The Jedi Temple, The Jedi Alliance*, Jedi Masters/Jedi Guardians of Peace, New Order of Jedi, KOTOR, Jedi Unity, Telos Jedi Order, Corellian Jedi Order, The Potentium, Kalway Order of Jedi, Old Order of Jedi, Onderon Jedi Order, Dantooine Jedi, Ac’trayth, Jedi Knights of the Republic, Order of the Light, Innocense Order of Jedi, Ossus Praxeum, and many more. In as many years as the New Jedi Order of Master Skywalker’s time lasted, this galaxy has seen probably 50 or more orders.
With the exception of the Jedi Alliance, none have brought all the Jedi together as was done before.
There is merit to having separate orders. Different locations in the galaxy may have different common species and diverse methods of handling affairs and events. Further, masters may have an opinion on how to run the order differently than the main or other orders.
It is the opinion of this author that having more than one order is a serious mistake. Jedi around the galaxy are left picking one order over another. This may be because one allows marriage and another does not; this may be due to a relationship one Jedi had with another from a dissimilar order; or this may be in part affected by the location or general design of the temple of one particular order. A Jedi should have one place to go to find the path of the light and one advising council for guidance towards that light.
The cause for the disparate orders is due to one problem in this galaxy: ego. I do not say this lightly, as I have dear friends who run various orders and I would never wish to offend them or anyone. It is in no way each and every one of them at fault in this scenario. However, as an underlying principle, the Jedi of orders of old sought a better way of doing things, imagining their way would be better than the current one. This was attempted with the Jedi Alliance and, with one exception (JM/JGP did not fully merge and therefore succeeded on its own), none succeeded until the Jedi Alliance collapsed.
I am not saying we in the JA ran things the best way. I am not saying that I knew what was best for each and every Jedi in the galaxy. I am not saying I was the best master out there. However, I will defend until my union with the Force that we knew what was best for ‘most’ Jedi and we provided a single entry point, home, learning environment, and safe haven for all Jedi of the galaxy. And this is a critical part of becoming and continuing to be a Jedi – a safe place to learn and share ideas.
Enclaves and learning centers are an entirely different subject. In our distant past, we have seen academies and enclaves on Dantooine, Telos, Taris, Ossus, Coruscant, Yavin 4, and more. In our more recent times, we have seen an enclave for every order out there (see the above discussion). However, allowing Jedi to find a nearby location, and one that is more pleasing and comfortable for them, is a pragmatic and beneficial opportunity for all.
I therefore call all Jedi – adepts, initiates, padawans, knights, and masters alike – to put aside their egos, their pasts, their relationships, their ‘better way of doing things’, and come together to form a united Jedi order once again. Perhaps each order can maintain its uniqueness, practices, and rules, but a parent council lays down some basic guidance: basic code of conduct, listing of all orders and academies, assistance in developing and maintaining welcome centers, basic steps to Knighthood (learning guides), monthly meetings with the heads of each order, and so on. This guidance would be the goal of the central council, but each order would maintain its local control and rules.
To be honest, I do not think it can ever be done again. However, I welcome the attempt. As Jedi, we do not speak in absolutes and we do not shut down ideas, and therefore I will always have a hope that it can be done again. The Force will guide us to unity if it shall be in our destinies.