Legacy of the Royal Order of St. Stephen

PATRIARCHAL SEE 30 August 2019 (ORCNS) - The Royal Order of St. Stephen is a religious and dynastic order of chivalry within the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate (Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church) as successors to Countess Matilda, Margravine of Tuscany and Vice-Queen of Italy in the Holy Roman Empire and Pope Leo X de' Medici. The order is under the hereditary protection of the Royal House of Etruria in the Holy Roman Empire. It is typically awarded for specific service to the House, as well as to recognize persons of noble lineage for exceptional and selfless service to the Church, their professions, their communities, non-profit service organizations, or humanity in general. The order particularly represents the titular territories within the Patriarchal patrimony of Würzburg/Franconia, Valais, Florence, and Tuscany.

Cosimo I de' Medici,
Grand Duke of Tuscany

The order, one of several orders dedicated to one of several Saints by the name of Stephen, traces its roots back to the Military Order of St. Stephen I, Pope & Martyr, founded by the Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I, in 1561. Following the death of Gian Gastone de' Medici in 1737, the Tuscan order was part of the Habsburg Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs also founded a Hungarian Order of St. Stephen I, in memory of the Hungarian King Stephen I. After the expulsion of the Habsburgs from Tuscany by Napoleon on 3 August 1801, the territory was renamed the Kingdom of Etruria (deriving from the ancient Etruscans, Etruria is synonymous with Tuscany and was the Latin form). The kingdom maintained the Tuscan Order of St. Stephen until its dissolution in 1807. The Holy Roman Empire having been illegally dissolved by the Habsburgs, a new Grand Duchy of Tuscany was formed in 1814 as a satellite of the Habsburg Austro-Hungarian Empire. They likewise maintained a Tuscan Order of St. Stephen.

Bosone d'Arles, King of Lower Burgundy & Provence,
Vice-King of Italy (left) with an image of St. Stephen
the Deacon at the Abbey of Charlieu, Burgundy

The Royal Order of St. Stephen under the Imperial Patriarchate is a successor to the original Medici Tuscan Order as a religious and dynastic order under ecclesiastical authority in succession from both Matilda, Margravine of Tuscany and Pope Leo X. However, the Royal Order changed its patron saint to St. Stephen the Deacon and Protomartyr. This was in part to differentiate it, pointing to its origins in the early days of the Tuscan order. St. Stephen was the saint in whose honour the Basilica of Arles was

Sash and medal of a
Knight Grand Cross of
the Royal Order of St. Stephen

dedicated, with Arles/Burgundy being the origin of the early rulers of Tuscany and Italy from whom the line of the Etrurian and Florentine household descends. Since Stephen the Deacon was also an important saint in Tuscany and the Imperial Patriarchate is dedicated to his eternal memory. An important feast of St. Stephen the Deacon is 3 August, the day that the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was ended in favour of the Kingdom of Etruria. Additionally, St. Stephen I, Pope and Martyr was archdeacon to his predecessor as pope. As St. Stephen the Deacon is patron saint of deacons, the dedication of the Royal Order to him also retains the legacy of St. Stephen I the Pope.

Matilda, Margravine
of Tuscany

The order is given in two divisions, Civil and ecclesiastical, and three ranks, Knight or Dame of Honour (limited to 100), Grand Cross (limited to 50), and Grand Collar (limited to 25). Also, the Oblates Regular of Saint Stephen for the Help of the Poor are the professed knights and dames of the order. The Patron Saint of the Order is Saint Stephen, Deacon and Protomartyr. The feast day known as the Invention of Saint Stephen, on which the Saint's body was found, occurs on the third of August, the day on which the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was formally ended in favour of the Kingdom of Etruria. The insignia consists of a red cross for the blessed martyr Stephen. In between the four points of the cross are gold eagles, taken from the Santa Croce Badge found in the Etrurian and Patriarchal flag, coat of arms, and other symbols. The ribbon of a Knight or Dame of Honour is solid red. The ribbon of Knights and Dames of the Grand Cross is red and white, taken from the colours of the patrimony of the Imperial Patriarchate in Valais, Würzburg/Franconia, Florence, and Tuscany, as well as the colours of the Spanish House of Ivrea and the Burgundian House of Arles, of which the Patriarchate is successor in Imperial Italy.

ARRCC Priest Serves in Coast Guard, Community

LEXINGTON, S.C. 26 August 2019 (ORCNS) - Mgr. Abbot Anthony Giunta, TOR Mar, PhD, JCD recently represented the US Coast Guard at a conference of the Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (WELCA). The Abbot spoke on the chaplaincy programmes and the Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church. In addition to being a chaplain with the Auxiliary Clergy Service of the US Coast Guard, the Abbot is Minister General of the Franciscan Third Order Regular of the Brothers and Sisters of Penance of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is the Commandant of the Regiment of Chaplains of the Walsingham Guard, the international humanitarian wing of the Patriarchate. In his local community, he serves as a hospital chaplain and also a chaplain with the Lexington, South Carolina, Police Department and the Irmo Fire District.

Abbot Anthony in the uniform as an officer of the 

US Coast Guard Auxiliary at the meeting of the WELCA.

Spanish Heritage of the Imperial Patriarchate

Don James I, 
King of Aragón

PATRIARCHAL SEE 16 August 2019 (ORCNS) - The Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate maintains strong cultural ties to Spain through its patrimony in France and Italy. Spanish is one of the five official languages of the Patriarchate, along with English, Italian, French, and German.

The Patriarchal and Royal Household descends from Don James I, King of Aragón, Count of Gévaudan in a line to Berenguer Raimondo, Count of Provence and Gévaudan in the House of Barcelona, from which also the Merovingian title of Count of Sainte Animie, the personal title of the Imperial Patriarchs, also succeeds.

The ancient Spanish House of Ivrea, to which the Imperial Patriarchate is successor in Imperial Italy, also succeeded to the thrones of Barcelona and Castile y León. The third great-grandson of Adalbert of Ivrea, King of Italy in the Holy Roman Empire, was Alfonso VII, King of Castile y León. (The House of Ivrea also descends from Bosone d'Arles, King of Lower Burgundy and Vice-King of Italy, one of the founding fathers of the Imperial Patriarchate.) Alfonso's mother was Urraca, Queen of Castile y León, and his father was Raymond of Burgunday (House of Ivrea), Count of Galicia, son of William I, Count of Burgundy. From there House of Ivrea ruled Castile y León until the 14th century succession crisis, when the House of Trastámara, illegitimate descendants of Alfonso XI, ruled. It was from that house that Isabella originated, who married Ferdinand of Aragón and launched the primary European exploration of the New World with the voyages of Columbus.

Adalbert d'Ivrea, King of Italy
3rd great-grandfather of Alfonso VII, King of Castile y León

Julius Caesar, founder of the
Legion of the Eagle

Additionally, there is a strong and significant connection to Hispania of the Most Honourable Legion of the Eagle, which is the successor of the IX Spanish Legion of the Roman Empire. The original "Legion of the Eagle" was a military unit of the Roman Empire tasked with defending the Empire against the barbarians and refers to the Legio IX Hispana (Spanish Legion), which was founded by Julius Caesar and re-activated by Caesar Augustus. It served mainly in Spain, Britain, and Germany. Their principal headquarters became York, and their mascot was the eagle. They earned their name, Hispana (Hispanic), during the Cantabrian Wars in Spain. Its Spanish home is Léon, its Germanic home is Speyer in the historic Duchy of Franconia, and its Italian home is Aquilea in the historic sovereign Patriarchate of Aquilea in Imperial Italy. The patron saint of the Legion is Saint Patrick, the British Roman best known as Apostle to the Irish.

Pontifical Georgian College enters MOU with the Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos

BUENOS AIRES 9 July 2019 (ORCNS) - The Pontifical Georgian College of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate and the Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos (the Royal Academy and Institute of Occitan Studies) of the Royal Merovingian House of David Toulouse-Gèvaudan recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding. This alliance furthers the mission of both academic institutions and also helps to strengthen the ties of the Imperial Patriarchate to its ancient heritage in the Merovingian Dynasty. 

HMERH Don Ruben, Rector of the Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos

As part of the Memorandum of Understanding, HMERH Don Rubén, Count of Gévaudan, Prince of Septimania, Rector of the Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos was named an Honourary Professor of History in the Pontifical Georgian College. Additionally, HIRH Don Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, Archprince-Bishop of Saint Stephen and Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch, Regent of the Pontifical Georgian College, was given the Gabalie Chair in the Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos.

Stained glass window depicting the seal
of Pontifical Georgian College.

The Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos was founded by the Royal Merovingian House of David Toulouse-Gèvaudan in order to preserve the culture and heritage of the ancient land of Occitania, which comprises modern-they southern France and parts of northwestern Italy and southeastern Spain.

Real Academia e Instituto de Estudios Occitanos

Pontifical Georgian College is a private theological institution that serves as the historic and principle seminary of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate in memory of St. Stephen (Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church). The Patriarchate of Saint Stephen descends from the ancient Roman Catholic See of Utrecht, granted autonomy by the Holy See in 1145. The Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2019.

Formal Appointment Ceremony for Prefect-General and Chief of the General Staff

PATRIARCHAL SEE 28 June 2019 (ORCNS) - HMSH Count Don Daniel Coberly, Prince v. Reichenberg was formally presented the documents of appointment as Prefect-General of the Imperial Patriarchate and Chief of the General Staff of the Walsingham Guard in a small ceremony by HIRH Don Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, Archprince-Bishop of Saint Stephen, Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch. The appointment was made and took effect earlier this month, with a formal ceremony taking place today. 

Presentation of the appointment document.

The Prefect-General is the appointed administrative head of the Imperial Patriarchate, generally equivalent to a prime minister of a secular civil state or a corporate present. The Chief of the General Staff is the appointed head of the combined segments of the Walsingham Guard. Don Daniel has over 30 years of military experience and several decades of administrative and executive experience.

The Imperial Patriarch in a meeting with the Prefect-General
and Chief of the General Staff regarding the work of the
Imperial Patriarchate in the United Nations.

United Nations Grants Consultative Status to Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church

NEW YORK 23 June 2019 (ORCNS) - The Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church (ARRCC) was recently granted special Consultative Status by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). 

Consultative status provides NGOs with access to not only ECOSOC, but also to its many subsidiary bodies, to the various human rights mechanisms of the United Nations, ad-hoc processes on small arms, as well as special events organized by the President of the General Assembly. The ARRCC joins the Holy See and certain other similar sovereign entities with a special status with the UN.  

"Our selection represents an ideal partnership with the United Nations" said Don Daniel Coberly, Prefect-General and Chief of the General Staff, "...because the mission of the Imperial Patriarchate and the ECOSOC brings people together to promote positive actions toward a more sustainable world." 

"The ECOSOC is at the center of the UN's development system, and our new role will help support the world-wide goals of the Council," Coberly said. "We will offer our expertise to support the UN's three pillars of sustainable development; economic, social, and environmental while encouraging broader awareness and actions that help humanity." 

Article 71 of the UN Charter and ECOSOC resolution 1996/31 authorizes eligibility for consultative status among international, regional, non-profit and voluntary organizations. See more here: United Nations Economic and Social Council.

For more information about the Imperial Patriarchate, Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church, please see: www.anglicanritecatholicchurch.org

For more information about the Anglican Rite Roman Catholic Church, Inc. international non-profit charitable and humanitarian foundation, please see: www.anglicanritecatholicchurch.com

Patriarchal Allocution on the Feast of Corpus Christi -- AD 2019

PATRIARCHAL SEE 20 June 2019 (ORCNS) -- The following is the text of the Patriarchal Allocution given by the Don Rutherford Cardinal Johnson, Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch on the Feast of Corpus Christi: 

From the Florentine household to the Christian faithful around the world and to the members of the Court of St. Mary of Walsingham, grace, peace, and our Apostolic Blessing on this Feast of Corpus Christi in the year of our Lord 2019. It is indeed one of the most joyous occasions in the liturgical year. It offers a chance look back and reflect on the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, for it is the fact that the Holy Mass is a true and living Sacrifice that we affirm, acknowledge, profess, and celebrate this day. Christ is with us always, and most of all in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Christ was incarnate, He suffered and died, rose again from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Without all of that, the faith would be meaningless, and they would be no hope in humanity. In the Sacrament we join ourselves to the Sacrifice of Christ on the cross and celebrate His glorious resurrection and ascension, that we may have the promise and hope of life everlasting. That is what is the inherent nature of the Most Blessed Sacrament. What a joyous gift it is! It is the ultimate symbol and true and living expression of love.

In the Imperial Patriarchate, we continue those traditions of the true Catholic faith that we have been entrusted to maintain. Our patrimony stretches back over 2000 years to Julius Caesar, and to Charlemagne, Bosone d’Arles, and Leo X. Our founding was made holy by Christ on the Cross, indeed by the very Body of our Lord. The brevity of human life and the vast length of the legacy of the Patriarchate is such that I can scarcely consider the Patriarchate to belong to me. Rather, I can only consider that I belong to it. I am its shepherd, nothing more.

If the patrimony of the Patriarchate has any merit in history or in the present period, then it is because of the faith and good works of its people. I am grateful to those who have continued to serve our ecclesiastical state so loyally and so long. And, I am impressed continually with the great achievements of our people.

Let us further pray for peace in the world – an elusive goal that we must nevertheless continue to make a priority, never giving up hope. To that end, let us further pray that the leaders of the temporal governments of the world may gain wisdom, acknowledging the true source of wisdom, and work together for the common good, using territorial nations as means to help people rather than mechanisms of division.

May Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless each of you during this celebration of Corpus Christi, which underpins all that we as Christian faithful do.