THE HOLY SEPULCHRE AND THE ORDERS DEDICATED TO IT
Author: Tudor Martin
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered one of the most important pilgrimage sites of Christianity, which contains what is believed to be the Calvary and the Tomb of Jesus Christ.
The finding of the Calvary and of the Tomb of Jesus is attributed to Empress Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, who is the first to have started construction works on the presumed holy sites. The religious site was destroyed and rebuilt several times, the present architectural complex being built in 1810. Today it is also the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, but control of the site is shared between different Christian Churches.
Because of this very important religious role, both the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Vatican created orders named after this most holy site, which are accessible to both men and women.
The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem – The Orthodox order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre is an Eastern Orthodox monastic fraternity guarding the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other Christian holy places in the Holy Land, founded in its present form during the British Mandate in Palestine. According to its own tradition, the Brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre was founded in 313, which corresponds to the Edict of Milan and its legalisation of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The order is awarded by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem to all Orthodox believers who aided the Patriarchate or the Orthodox Churches in general. The insignia of the Grand Cross degree, or of the first class, has the shape of a cross with rounded arms. On the obverse, the image of the Holy Sepulchre, surrounded by the inscription - IN THIS SIGN YOU WILL WIN (in Greek), is represented, whilst on the reverse the coat of arms of the Patriarchy and the inscription JÉRUSALEM MERE DES ÉGLISES (in French), followed by the year 312, appear. The star of the order has in its centre the insignia of the other classes – a cross overlapped on a palm leaf wreath with a central medallion depicting the image of the Nativity.
The Vatican – The order of the Holy Sepuchre from Jerusalem
The beginning of this order can be traced back to the First Crusade and to the founding of the crusader state of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. King Baldwin I, the first ruler of the crusader kingdom, drew up the first constitution of the order, which was composed of monks and lay members, drawn up from the different crusader militias that were tasked with the protection of the Holy Sepulchre.
The Pope is the sovereign of the order, whilst the grand master of this equestrian order is a cardinal appointed by the Roman pontiff. Pope Pius IX split the members of the order into three degrees in 1868: Knight, Knight Commander, and Knight Grand Cross. Today, the number of degrees is five, as follows: Knight, Knight Commander, Grand Officer, Knight Grand Cross and Knight of the Collar. Membership of the order is by invitation only, to practising Catholic men and women – laity and clergy – of good character, minimum 25 years of age, who have distinguished themselves by concern for the Christians of the Holy Land. Since 1949, a Cross of Merit of the order can be awarded to meritorious non-members, for example, non-Catholics, which is currently made up of three degrees/classes - Cross of Merit, Cross of Merit with silver star and Cross of Merit with gold star.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cremene, Mioara, Dicționar inițiatic al Ordinelor Cavalerești, București, 2003;
Gritzner Maximilian, Handbuch de Ritter und verdienstordwn, Graz, 1962;
Maigne W., Dictionnaire encyclopédique des Ordres de Chevalerie civile et militare, Paris, 1885;
MěřičkaVáclav, Orden und Auszeichnungen, Ed. II, Praga, 1969.
