I have recently been received into the Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr, which is a fraternal, chivalric order which has recently been instituted.
So, why am I writing a blog post about this? I assure you that it is not to toot my own horn, but to raise awareness of this new order.
Western Europe has a rich history of secular and religious chivalric orders. Most of these chivalric orders have a monarch as their fons honorum and some have the Pope as theirs. Eastern Europe - while having a few orders never had the same amount as those in the West. Naturally, those religious orders in the West are either Roman Catholic or Protestant - the Orthodox Church never really had many religious orders.
Perhaps one of the best known orders in the West is the Order of Malta, also known as the Knights of Malta - which dates back to around the First Crusade when they were known as Knights Hospitaller - or the Order of Saint John. There is still an actual Order of Saint John that, if I recall correctly, split from the Order of Malta and is basically the Protestant version. And of course there are those British orders which still retain some notoriety.
Alluding to the Order of Saint John they do a lot of charitable works - including having hospitals and ambulance services (any Doctor Who fans might notice that the TARDIS has a St. John Ambulance logo). The Order of Malta also employs doctors and nurses.
There are also a plethora of other chivalric and religious orders popping up today. Most of these are not seen as legitimate since they have no fons honorum, or Fount of Honor. As I mentioned above, these founts of honor are usually Monarchs, and often times being received into one of these orders bestows certain noble titles - which is why many new chivalric orders are seen as illegitimate - any one not a Monarch (or the Pope) can not bestow nobility.
This has also lead to some debate as to who or what constitutes a legitimate fons honorum. Obviously, Queen Elizabeth II counts as a legitimate fons honorum, as do her ancestors, but what if we go further back in history to King James? Not King James the I and VI, but his descendant who was usurped from the throne, but still seen by many Scottish nobles as the legitimate heir to the Scottish Throne and had the whole Jacobite Revolt thing happen (unsuccessfully). Could a deposed monarchy still count as a fons honorum?
If the answer is yes then what about the descendants of those deposed monarchs? In fact, there is at least one instance where this is the case - the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation which has as it's head the Prince of Naples and only male heir of the last King of Italy. But that is an already established order.
So, this raises another question, can those that prove descent from a monarch - deposed, no longer a dynasty, or otherwise, be the fount of honor for a new chivalric order?
I would have to say, personally, that it depends.
According to some results of DNA tests it has been confirmed that somewhere down the line my family is related to Charlemagne. Does this mean that I could be the fount of honor?
I would say no, since - as far as I know - we can't prove any more recent heritage.
But what if someone was a descendant of say a Prince of Italy? Sure, I could totally see that as the Kingdom of Italy was abolished less than 100 years ago, so that connection is a bit more tangible.
And that is who the fons honorum of the Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr is, a direct descendant of a Prince of Italy.
But, if that is not enough for those purists out there, then hearkening back to those orders that are under the patronage of the Pope, the Order of Saint George is under the patronage and spiritual advisory of Metropolitan HILARION+ the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. And, since according to the Orthodox Church, all Bishops are equal, then this is about the same as having the Pope be the patron of an order - just the Orthodox version of it.
So, all of that being said, it seems that the Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr is indeed what could be called a chivalric order. Will it be recognized as such by other orders and those purists I mentioned? Perhaps, given enough time.
And with all of that being laid out there, let us now delve into what the Order of Saint George is about.
The Order is a fraternal order that admits both men and women. It is pan Orthodox, meaning that those who are of other Orthodox jurisdictions may freely join. It's mission, as taken from it's website is, "to help peacefully defend, sustain and preserve the continued existence and well-being of the Orthodox Christian Faith within the Holy Land, the Middle East, and wherever the Orthodox Church and her faithful are either persecuted or in need."
That is a very worthy mission, if you ask me. Believe it or not, but the Orthodox Church is very highly persecuted in the Holy Land by both Muslims and Jews, as well as highly persecuted throughout the Middle East in Muslim countries. This is not an attempt to bash religions, but an attempt to help raise awareness.
Many of those affected by the so called Arab Spring and the so called Syrian Civil War were Orthodox Christians - who were displaced due to fighting, as well as had their homes and churches destroyed. Many shrines and pilgrimage sites were destroyed by Daesh as they swept through the Levant - not to mention the persecution that has been ongoing since the Crusades.
There is also persecution of Orthodox Christians in such places as China! And, considering that I just saw a news article earlier this week about 2,000 people converting to Orthodoxy in India, I'm sure those people will be in need for supplies and other things for their new churches. Unfortunately, not everywhere can be as prosperous for Orthodoxy as the US, and it rightly falls to us who are better off to help our fellow Christians who are persecuted and in need.
Also, when I was first talking to the Sovereign Knight about the Order about two years ago there was mentioned talks about joining the UN - much like the Order of Malta. I don't know how well those talks have gone, but for right now the Order is a registered non-profit (which separates it from self-styled orders which seem like those with barely a claim to noble ancestry use to LARP and bestow fake honors upon themselves), which means that donations to the Order are tax deductible.
Are there membership dues? Yes, because the Order has to sustain itself somehow, most especially while it is still starting up and getting established.
Why did I join? Because I was asked to. I have been friends (through social media - that totally counts, I promise) with the Sovereign Knight for a few years and he reached out to me recently to ask me to join. So I did. But I didn't only join because I was asked - I also joined so I could be proactive in helping my brothers and sisters. Sure, I try to help out where I can locally. As an Oblate I also help out the monastery I am attached to (usually by shopping through smile.amazon.com - a great way to shop and support charities and non-profits). As a member of the Order of Saint George I now have a global reach to other Orthodox who need help.
Why write a blog post about it on a blog that is hardly updated and receives so little traffic? Because even a little exposure and awareness of the Order will be a good thing. Hopefully once I post this to the still existing Google+ and to Facebook a few of my friends on there will see it and join, or at least recommend the Order to those who might be looking for something like the Order.
So, why am I writing a blog post about this? I assure you that it is not to toot my own horn, but to raise awareness of this new order.
Western Europe has a rich history of secular and religious chivalric orders. Most of these chivalric orders have a monarch as their fons honorum and some have the Pope as theirs. Eastern Europe - while having a few orders never had the same amount as those in the West. Naturally, those religious orders in the West are either Roman Catholic or Protestant - the Orthodox Church never really had many religious orders.
Perhaps one of the best known orders in the West is the Order of Malta, also known as the Knights of Malta - which dates back to around the First Crusade when they were known as Knights Hospitaller - or the Order of Saint John. There is still an actual Order of Saint John that, if I recall correctly, split from the Order of Malta and is basically the Protestant version. And of course there are those British orders which still retain some notoriety.
Alluding to the Order of Saint John they do a lot of charitable works - including having hospitals and ambulance services (any Doctor Who fans might notice that the TARDIS has a St. John Ambulance logo). The Order of Malta also employs doctors and nurses.
There are also a plethora of other chivalric and religious orders popping up today. Most of these are not seen as legitimate since they have no fons honorum, or Fount of Honor. As I mentioned above, these founts of honor are usually Monarchs, and often times being received into one of these orders bestows certain noble titles - which is why many new chivalric orders are seen as illegitimate - any one not a Monarch (or the Pope) can not bestow nobility.
This has also lead to some debate as to who or what constitutes a legitimate fons honorum. Obviously, Queen Elizabeth II counts as a legitimate fons honorum, as do her ancestors, but what if we go further back in history to King James? Not King James the I and VI, but his descendant who was usurped from the throne, but still seen by many Scottish nobles as the legitimate heir to the Scottish Throne and had the whole Jacobite Revolt thing happen (unsuccessfully). Could a deposed monarchy still count as a fons honorum?
If the answer is yes then what about the descendants of those deposed monarchs? In fact, there is at least one instance where this is the case - the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation which has as it's head the Prince of Naples and only male heir of the last King of Italy. But that is an already established order.
So, this raises another question, can those that prove descent from a monarch - deposed, no longer a dynasty, or otherwise, be the fount of honor for a new chivalric order?
I would have to say, personally, that it depends.
According to some results of DNA tests it has been confirmed that somewhere down the line my family is related to Charlemagne. Does this mean that I could be the fount of honor?
I would say no, since - as far as I know - we can't prove any more recent heritage.
But what if someone was a descendant of say a Prince of Italy? Sure, I could totally see that as the Kingdom of Italy was abolished less than 100 years ago, so that connection is a bit more tangible.
And that is who the fons honorum of the Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr is, a direct descendant of a Prince of Italy.
But, if that is not enough for those purists out there, then hearkening back to those orders that are under the patronage of the Pope, the Order of Saint George is under the patronage and spiritual advisory of Metropolitan HILARION+ the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. And, since according to the Orthodox Church, all Bishops are equal, then this is about the same as having the Pope be the patron of an order - just the Orthodox version of it.
So, all of that being said, it seems that the Holy Orthodox Order of Saint George the Great Martyr is indeed what could be called a chivalric order. Will it be recognized as such by other orders and those purists I mentioned? Perhaps, given enough time.
And with all of that being laid out there, let us now delve into what the Order of Saint George is about.
The Order is a fraternal order that admits both men and women. It is pan Orthodox, meaning that those who are of other Orthodox jurisdictions may freely join. It's mission, as taken from it's website is, "to help peacefully defend, sustain and preserve the continued existence and well-being of the Orthodox Christian Faith within the Holy Land, the Middle East, and wherever the Orthodox Church and her faithful are either persecuted or in need."
That is a very worthy mission, if you ask me. Believe it or not, but the Orthodox Church is very highly persecuted in the Holy Land by both Muslims and Jews, as well as highly persecuted throughout the Middle East in Muslim countries. This is not an attempt to bash religions, but an attempt to help raise awareness.
Many of those affected by the so called Arab Spring and the so called Syrian Civil War were Orthodox Christians - who were displaced due to fighting, as well as had their homes and churches destroyed. Many shrines and pilgrimage sites were destroyed by Daesh as they swept through the Levant - not to mention the persecution that has been ongoing since the Crusades.
There is also persecution of Orthodox Christians in such places as China! And, considering that I just saw a news article earlier this week about 2,000 people converting to Orthodoxy in India, I'm sure those people will be in need for supplies and other things for their new churches. Unfortunately, not everywhere can be as prosperous for Orthodoxy as the US, and it rightly falls to us who are better off to help our fellow Christians who are persecuted and in need.
Also, when I was first talking to the Sovereign Knight about the Order about two years ago there was mentioned talks about joining the UN - much like the Order of Malta. I don't know how well those talks have gone, but for right now the Order is a registered non-profit (which separates it from self-styled orders which seem like those with barely a claim to noble ancestry use to LARP and bestow fake honors upon themselves), which means that donations to the Order are tax deductible.
Are there membership dues? Yes, because the Order has to sustain itself somehow, most especially while it is still starting up and getting established.
Why did I join? Because I was asked to. I have been friends (through social media - that totally counts, I promise) with the Sovereign Knight for a few years and he reached out to me recently to ask me to join. So I did. But I didn't only join because I was asked - I also joined so I could be proactive in helping my brothers and sisters. Sure, I try to help out where I can locally. As an Oblate I also help out the monastery I am attached to (usually by shopping through smile.amazon.com - a great way to shop and support charities and non-profits). As a member of the Order of Saint George I now have a global reach to other Orthodox who need help.
Why write a blog post about it on a blog that is hardly updated and receives so little traffic? Because even a little exposure and awareness of the Order will be a good thing. Hopefully once I post this to the still existing Google+ and to Facebook a few of my friends on there will see it and join, or at least recommend the Order to those who might be looking for something like the Order.
No comments:
Post a Comment