IDTG

There are many orders of chivalry, knighthood or merit in the world. Some of them are completely secular, such as the Légion d’honneur of France while others are completely religious and tied to a specific church such as the Papal Order of Christ.

The insignia above are those of a knight of the Légion d’honneur (on the left) and the star and badge of the Order of Christ.

The majority of orders are somewhere in between though one can argue that almost all of them have a religious aspect to them. Some, of course, more than others.

One thing that differentiates the Orthodox Orders from all the others is, as the name implies, their foundation on Eastern Orthodox Christianity and under the spiritual protection of one of the Orthodox Patriarchates or Autocephalous Churches. There is a debate on whether the heads of any of these Churches or even the Ecumenical Patriarch have the fons honorum to establish an Order of Chivalry as none of these ever enjoyed in the long histories the same temporal power as the Bishop of Rome (i.e. the Pope). Regardless though, the notion of a religious Order of Chivalry is a foreign concept to the Eastern Churches; however, in the past century or so they have started giving out awards that even though they may resemble a knightly Order, they are clearly Orders of Merit. One of these meritorious Orders is the Order of St. Andrew or Archons under the auspice of the His All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constaninople.

Archon cross

Naturally, the Orthodox lands have had royal sovereigns to rule them and in their capacity as sovereigns, with a font honorum that cannot be disputed, had or have instituted Orders of Chivalry under their Grand Mastership and the spiritual protection of their Archbishop or Patriarch. Perhaps the most widely known Orthodox sovereigns were the Czars of the Russian Empire who where under the spiritual guidance of His Holiness the Patriarch of All Russia. Though, it must be noted that there were many other Orthodox sovereigns that were either completely independent or autonomous and under a greater and more powerful king/emperor.

Since there is so much written about all the non-Orthodox Orders while very little, if anything, about the Orthodox ones, we’ll be examining them one at a time as my research completes for each. I hope you enjoy this journey and if you can contribute or correct anything, please comment or contact me!

As mentioned in a previous entry on chivalric orders, members can display their decorations in their heraldic achievements.

Each order has it’s own rules on the display of the decorations but, they all have the same general guidelines. The lower level members typically have a decoration that is much like a military medal worn on the breast. These members can display the decoration suspended from the bottom of the shield, i.e. beneath the shield.

Higher level members may have what is termed a “breast star” that resembles (as the name implies) a large metal star with the insignia of the order. These breast stars are worn on the breast of the member and are much larger than the smaller medals worn by low level members. These individuals usually can display their decoration as well beneath their shield. (Below left: badge of the Most Venerable Order of St. John; Below right: Arms of Dr. Charles Drake, member of the Order)

The highest level members usually wear a decoration around the neck, much like an elaborate necklace or collar. These members can have that collar encircle their shield. (Below left: Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece; Below right: Arms of HM the King of Spain)

As mentioned, these are the general rules of thumb but each order has it’s own specific rules. Sometimes, an order may explicitly state that another order (in general or specific) cannot be displayed with it. An example of such an order is the Légion d’honneur of France.

Also, there are orders that though they may have medals, ribbons and collars their members typically display their arms with something else. An example is the Order of the Garter whose members encircle their shield with the garter of the order. Though it is not unheard of to have both the garter and the collar, such as with the arms of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Then again, there are orders that, depending on the level of the member (usually senior levels), have a symbol of the order (typically a cross) behind the shield. These are not to be confused with supporters which have a meaning unto themselves. Examples of these orders are the Order of Malta and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

If the member has more than one decoration, they can display them all under or around the shield, depending on the type. There isn’t any known restriction on the number of decorations to display, other than matters of taste.