Sri Lankan Attacks -- Post-Mass Statement by the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch

21 April 2019 -- Statement by HIRH Cardinal Don Rutherford I, Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch after mass on Easter Sunday on the attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka earlier in the day.

Easter Greetings from the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch

20 April 2019 - Holy Saturday and Easter Vigil - Easter greetings in the four principal languages of the Imperial Patriarchate from HIRH Don Rutherford I, Archprince of St. Stephen and Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch.

The Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch comments on the fire at Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris. I remember the venerable old cathedral well, climbing up the narrow stairs, the gargoyles, all the little details that are easy to miss. It is a fond memory of the Europe I knew and loved in my youth, a society and culture that most Europeans have ceded away and destroyed. Some of us still proudly call ourselves European, invoking the memory of Caesar, of Charles the Hammer, of Charlemagne, St. Louis IX, Friedrich the Great, and many others, with determination that our Faith and our culture will never be allowed to die, but will flourish once again. The great cathedral may burn, but its image is forever seared into my memory. We in the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate, then, dedicate the liturgy of Holy Week to the renaissance of European Christianity. Deus vult!

+Rutherford PI

Statement of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch on the Christian Victims of the Killing Spree in Nigeria

On behalf of the Imperial Patriarchate of St. Stephen, we express our sympathy for and solidarity with the victims of the anti-Christian killing spree in Nigeria. At present the death toll is at least 200. We pray not only for the victims of this senseless violence, but for all those Christians who are persecuted for their faith around the world. The nations of the world are morally obligated to shun hypocrisy and do their part to put an end to such violence. 

+Rutherford P.I. 

Statement on New Zealand Mosque Shooting by the Imperial Patriarch

On behalf of the people of the Imperial Patriarchate of St. Stephen, we express our heartfelt sadness at the mosque shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is unfortunate that some resort to brutal violence to settle their differences. It is unfortunate that some cannot live and let live. Let us pray for the victims of all violence in places of worship around the world.

Rutherford P.I.

Merovingian & Carolingian Origins of the Imperial Patriarchate

The ethnic heritage of the modern institution of the Imperial Patriarchate of St. Stephen stretch back over 1500 years to the ancients Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties that ruled much of Europe from after the fall of the Roman Empire until the Napoleonic era. The Merovingian dynasty was Frankish and considered the oldest ruling dynasty of modern-day France (which takes its name from the Franks). Clovis I, grandson of the founder of that dynasty, united Gaul (essentially modern-day France) under their rule in the fifth century. Their territory expanded to include much of the Germanic territory, as well as Burgundy. They were succeeded by the Carolingians, which takes its name from Charlemagne, crowned Emperor of the Romans by the Pope in the year 800. Charlemagne also conquered much of Italy from the Lombards and established the Imperial Kingdom of Italy. Charlemagne is considered the founder of the Holy Roman Empire.

Lothair I, son of Charlemagne, King of Italy

Two of the main territories within the ethnic heritage of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate, Etruria (Tuscany) and Westphalia, have deep roots that go back to the Holy Roman Empire and beyond. During the Napoleonic era, those two territories were established as kingdoms within the French Empire. Their legacy came to the Imperial Patriarchate later via right of the Holy Roman Empire in a form of reclamation, and thus the heritage of the Napoleonic era remains by right as a valued part of that heritage. Etruria, due to its rule, also brings Spanish legacy.

Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain,
Queen of Etruria (center), with her
son Louis II, Napoleonic King of Etruria (left)
and daughter Princess Maria Luisa Carlotta.

Napoleon (himself an Italian), upon becoming Emperor, saw the new French Empire as a legitimate reestablishment of the ancient Merovingian dynasty. That dynasty is the oldest in France, even older than the Bourbons. Their symbol was the bee, and thus Napoleon made regular use of the bee as his own symbol. His other (and more famous) symbol of the Empire was the eagle, reminiscent of both the Roman Empire and the Holy Roman Empire.

Emperor Napoleon in regalia
as King of Italy

Also, as ecclesiastical claimant to the temporal patrimony of Florence and the ancient Margraviate of Tuscany in the Holy Roman Empire, the Imperial Patriarchate holds succession to the honorific title of Imperial Vice-King of Italy in the Holy Roman Empire. The Vice-King was the crowned, de facto ruler of the Imperial Kingdom of Italy (the title of King of Italy was usually held by the Holy Roman Emperor). Indeed, that title has links to the very origins of the Imperial Patriarchate’s patronage of St. Stephen the Deacon and Protomartyr. The first Vice-King of Italy, during the first period of Carolingian rule of Italy, was Bosone I d'Arles, King of Lower Burgundy and Provence. He was given the title by Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor, King of West Francia, and King of Italy. There exists an image of Bosone humbling himself before Saint Stephen the Deacon and Protomartyr, celestial Patron of the Patriarchate of St. Stephen, in a fresco in the Abbey of Charlieu in Burgundy. Also, the Basilica of Arles was dedicated to St. Stephen. The Carolingian Kingdom of Arles succeeded the Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy and is a major line of the Margraves of Tuscany and Kings of Italy. 

King Bosone of Lower Burgundy and Provence, Imperial Vice-King of Italy,
humbles himself before Saint Stephen the Deacon and Protomartyr,
celestial Patron of the Patriarchate of St. Stephen.
From a fresco in the Abbey of Charlieu in Burgundy.

Also within the heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate are direct Merovingian titles recognised and held by family right by the Imperial Patriarch and the Governor-General. Their family titles were given in time the Imperial Patriarchate and thus descend with the specific semi-hereditary, semi-elected ecclesiastical offices to which they are tied.

The descent from the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties is depicted in the Imperial Patriarchate’s symbology. The basic coat of arms of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch features a white eagle on a blue shield.  The Frankish eagle on the shield recalls both Carolingian heritage and the Merovingians, for the shield is similar to that of the Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy. Holding imperial dignity and co-imperial rank, the shield is depicted upon a golden double-headed eagle.

Basic coat of arms of the 
Imperial Patriarch of St. Stephen

The Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate of today has a rich ethnic heritage rooted in the Merovingian and Carolingian dynasties stretching from the Italian peninsula to the northern Rheinland and spanning over 1500 years of history. Latino and Germanic, it is a composite of distinct and ancient legacies united together in one ecclesiastical sovereignty. The Imperial Patriarchate carries those legacies into the future.

Patriarchal Allocution - Christmas 2018

PATRIARCHAL SEE 25 December 2018 (ORCNS) - The following is the transcript of the allocution given by HIRH the Imperial Patriarch of St. Stephen, Christmas 2018. 

From the Florentine Household to the Christian faithful throughout the world and especially to the members of the Court of Saint Mary of Walsingham, grace, peace, and Our Apostolic Blessing on this joyous celebration of the two thousand eighteenth Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. When Christ came into the world, He came to fulfill the Hebrew prophecies – yet He came for all mankind without regard to ethnic background or national origin. It is perhaps the one thing that knows no border, and as the national borders of the world change and move over time, membership in the Kingdom of God is something that unites all of the faithful around the world. It is indeed the greatest hope for mankind and at times the only thing that unite disparate peoples.

Remembering again the unity in the Corporate Body of Christ, We call again for unity among the Christian faithful of the world. That is often seen as an elusive goal, particularly given not only the political issues separating the faithful, but also the sincerely held religious beliefs. Yet, we must never abandon hope. Let Us call again upon that principal which We have invoked as the ecumenical motto of Our Patriarchate – Cooperation without Compromise. Can we as the Christian faithful truly find nothing on which to agree with those of other Christian jurisdictions and communities? Shall we truly allow the presence of disagreements – even at times significant ones – to prevent us from displaying Christian brotherhood and cooperation? If we will not seek what common ground we can find, how can we truly hope for unity? If we will not work with our brethren despite disagreements, how can we look to our Saviour and say that we have done all that we humanly can do from brotherhood? Furthermore, if we not only do not seek cooperation and brotherhood without compromise, but add to the flames of discontent by hurling petards of arrogant insults and hate, can we even truly call ourselves authentic practitioners of the Christian faith? That is not, of course, to say that we cannot and should not speak out against what is truly wrong and not merely wrong in our opinion, but rather that there are many words that are best kept to ourselves. If we truly believe others to be wrong, we will not so easily win them over by vitriol – even if we are indeed right according to the Doctrine of the Faith.

Now, as we have start a new liturgical year, which is, in the Imperial Patriarchate, dedicated to the Faith of Imperial Italy, it is an excellent time to resolve to grow in Christian brotherhood and cooperation. We do not serve our purpose by yielding on that which cannot be yielded, but neither must we seek war where there need be none.

Let Us furthermore remind you all, dear brethren, the reason that we maintain with great determination the traditions of the Imperial Patriarchate of St. Stephen. It is, first, in our blood and our faith. Yet, the majority of the world, for better or worse, is no longer as it once was. In Christian tolerance and charity, we do not actively seek others to change to suit us. Our goal is not to achieve any particular temporal outcome, for ultimately the kingdom we represent on earth is not of this world. Nonetheless, by perpetuating the great and glorious legacy that is our sacred duty to maintain, of a society flawed in humanity, but centred on Christ and His Holy Church, we serve as an example to all people and all governments of the world today, no matter their form. In that way we serve in the best way we possibly can. Seek in this coming year to increase your service in the mission that we all share.

Now, therefore, prepare yourselves to receive God's blessing.

Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Patris+, et Filii+, et Spiritus + Sancti, descendat super vos et maneat semper. R. Amen.