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Ordeal Ceremony Revision Announcement

        Announcements, Lodge Ledger, Policy Updates

You're viewing an article from the Order of the Arrow's news archives that is over one year old. Please note that this content is presented for reference purposes only. Some links may no longer function and the information below may have been superseded by a more recent policy update. For up-to-date information, please visit oa-bsa.org/news.
Ordeal Ceremony Revisions with a fire background

Following a thorough review process, the National Order of the Arrow Committee has approved an update to Ceremony for the Ordeal, with changes to both the pre-Ordeal and Ordeal ceremonies that address recent membership updates, safety concerns, ceremonial continuity, and improves the overall candidate experience.

Details on this revision can be found on the Ordeal Ceremony Revision Summary of Changes page. These changes are safeguarded with an Ordeal safeguard.

The current pre-Ordeal and Ordeal ceremony may continue to be used through the end of 2022. As of January 1, 2023, all lodges are expected to use the new text for the purpose of welcoming new candidates into the OA.

For evaluations at NOAC 2022, ceremonialists will be expected to use the movements and words contained in this revision.

To access the updated ceremony text, visit oa-bsa.org/resources/inductions/ceremony-texts. Minor changes to the notes and introductory text have been made to Ceremony for the Brotherhood and Ceremony for the Vigil Honor, as well; no spoken words have changed in either text since the 2019 edition. For any questions or clarifications, email @email.